Tales of the Abyss: Dawn of the Twins
by the lone canine
Summary: A festival to honor those lost against Van is used to mount an attack on Auldrant, and Luke must uncover a sinister plot that threatens Auldrant, and another world beside Auldrant. Luke/Tear, Asch/Natalia, Guy/OC, Jade/OC, Anise/OC, OC/OC, OC/OC
1. Chapter 1: Midnight Visitor

A/N-What is up everybody? Hunt for two Wolves is cancelled due to lack of inspiration. This story incorperates two characters I planned on using in Hunt for two Wolves, but in a different light, one I've never placed them under before. This story, I hope, will appeal to all of your senses. I hope the name isn't too corny, or corny at all. Anyways, this story is post-game, so it is just after Luke returns home, and things begin to settle down, when a mysterious midnight intruder attempts to sneak into Luke's room. Just before they can, a guard comes by, and the intruder leaves a note in time to sneak away. The note is mentioned in the story, and without further a-do, I don't own Tales of the Abyss or any of its characters or plotline. I do own the OC's in this story, so I hope you enjoy, and once more,

read on!

* * *

Chapter 1-Midnight Visitor

_Remday.  
The date today matters not, for I am about to enter the Duke Manor, my goal is important. As I write these words, there is no guarentee that I will get out without getting in to trouble, so before I start my assignment, I must say this one thing. I am in debt to the Duke for a number of reasons, but this last request may seem selfish._

_I have not much time. I must begin, for if I am to fail, then there will be hell to pay._Seven hours previous....

Light filtered over the brightly lit city of Baticul, the residential place where the Duke lived, along with Luke Fon Fabre, the next Duke in line. A lot had gone on recently, over the course of several months. Luke was tossed into the wild world, and encountered many friends and enemies. But out of all, he encountered a different self, that he would not have found had it not been for his loyal friends, and Asch. The stubborn-headed Oracle General let Luke view events through Asch's eyes to try and get a grasp on what Luke was really meant to do in a sense. Thanks to that, Luke changed dramatically. Instead of snobby, irritating Luke, he cared. Cared for his friends, and everyone. Now that the issue with Van Grants was over, the entire world could rest in peace. Luke had only recently returned, and was now in the manor, staring out his bedroom window. Luke was dressed in a simple black t-shirt, and wore blue jeans to top it. Instead of his usual attire that he wore throughout the journey before, he wore this on a nice casual day of, nothing.  
Ever since the end of the struggle with Van, the six friends, Anise, Guy, Jade, Natalia, himself and Tear had not spoken to each other very often, if at all. Most of them where busy with life around their occupations. Anise was suprisingly the new Fon Master, and was doing a great job of it. Tear had reluctantly stayed an Oracle Knight beside Anise. Guy was now a Count, and beared a busy life inside Grand Chokmah. Jade remained a colonel of Malkuth, and stayed ever vigilant in any issue. Natalia had become Kimlasca's ambassador, and was traveling alot. Since no one came to visit, Luke had nothing to do. He sighed heavily, and flopped down onto his bed, laying all sprawled out on the spread sheets. He glanced to the left of him, and noticed a picture of him and the gang. They had taken that picture just before they all went their seperate ways. The picture showed him in the middle, Guy wrapping an arm around Luke's neck. Tear stood on the opposet side of him, holding his hand. Anise sat in front of him, and Natalia and Jade were behind him. They were all smiling in this picture. Luke sighed again.  
"Man, what I would do just to be able to see them again." He said aloud. He stared longer at the photo, and began to become lost in thought, when a knock at his door jarred him out of his thoughts. He looked to the door.  
"Come in!" He said, and the door opened to reveal one of the maids. She walked over to Luke and handed him a note.  
"Luke-sama, this is a message from Fon Master Anise Tatlin. She says that she is coming today for a visit to the manor." The maid said, before bowing and then quietly leaving. Luke slowly scanned his gaze over the thin brown slip of paper.

_Dear Luke,_

_It's me! Anise! How've you been? It's been so long since I saw you last. I was wondering, what have you been up to? Me, I've been busy with Oracle work. I wish I could have come sooner, but there have been things keeping me busy, so I haven't had the time. I'm glad I managed to find time to come visit, cause tonights supposed to be a little festival in honor of those lost in the struggle with the Commandant. I wonder, is Tear and the others coming? I just thought I'd ask. Anyways, I'll see you real soon, cause as soon as I finish writing this letter, I'm heading out to say hi._

Sincerely, Fon Master Anise.

Luke couldn't help but smile as he read the letter. Anise hadn't changed much since he last saw her, and the fact that she knows about the festival is even better. Hearing that she thought the others might show up sparked a glimmer of hope in Luke's heart, that he might see them all tonight. He laughed softly, and got up to get prepared for the night.

Later that night, Luke made his way from the manor into the city. He had been making regular trips into the city occasionally, to gather food, but at night, under the festival lights, it was much different. There were orange lanterns hanging from overhead wires that went from house to house. As he walked, Luke noticed that there were some guards walking around, patroling was Luke's guess. Just as he was about to turn a corner, a voice hailed out to him.  
"Luke! Luke-sama!" The red head turned to see a rushing Anise Tatlin coming his way, and Luke had to brace himself to avoid injury. Anise jumped when she got close enough, and wrapped herself around Luke.  
"Oh, how I've missed you Luke! What have you been up to? Really!" She asked as she hung from Luke. The young puppeteer had grown slightly since he had last seen her, and she wasn't as short. She was still able to hang from the young scions arms however.  
"Ah, not much really. Been stuck in the manor with nothing to do." He replied quickly, a sweat drop forming near his eyes. As Anise opened her mouth to speak, a much deeper male voice cut her off.  
"Well, if it isn't our old scion Luke." Luke looked past Anise to see Jade Curtiss walking over to them, dressed in military outfit. Anise let go of Luke and ran over to Jade and hugged the man.  
"It's been awhile Jade." Luke greeted in response, and Jade nodded as Anise said things to the colonel, who wasn't listening.  
"Well, I suppose you've been doing nothing in the manor, seeing as how there isn't much for you to do." Jade said. Luke nodded.  
"Yeah, I haven't had much to do lately because of the lack of need." He responded, and as he noticed something move out of the corner of his eye, Luke turned around to see a blonde male and female walking over to him.  
"Oi! Luke!" The male called, and Luke waved.  
"Oi! Natalia! Guy!" He called back, and ran over to greet his companions, Jade trailing behind with Anise still clinging. Guy grinned and shook hands with Luke as they met.  
"It's been far too long my friend. What have you been up to these days?" Guy asked. Luke sighed sheepishly.  
"Not much I'm afraid." He responded. Natalia smiled.  
"Oh Luke, I'm glad we are all here to spend some time together." She said, and wiped away a tear that was forming at her eyes. Luke frowned.  
"Well, we aren't all here." He responded, just as the missing member of the group came into view, and quickly made her way over to them.  
"We are all here Luke." Guy said, and couldn't resist a smile. Luke smiled too, and turned to the descendant of Yulia who had just joined them.  
"Hey Tear." He greeted, and Tear nodded.  
"It's, been awhile, hasn't it?" She asked in response. Luke nodded.  
"Yeah, it has. I wish this could have been sooner" He responded, then smiled as he got an idea.  
"Hey, since we're all here, it's my treat. Your all invited to the feast later tonight, my father wishes for you all to join us overnight." He said. Anise shrieked softly in joy.  
"Yay!" She said and jumped in the air. Jade nodded, as Guy sighed.  
"Well, if that is how it's going to be, I can't deny a friend his request." He said, and lightly punched Luke in the shoulder. Natalia laughed softly.  
"I'm glad we can all stay this way a little longer." She said, and Tear nodded right after the comment.  
"Yes, it is good to be together. Especially since we all have so much catching up to do." She said, and on those words, Anise giggled.  
"Yeah, you and _Luke_ have alot to catch up." She said, and started having a laughing fit as Tear and Luke blushed furiously, and looked away. Jade just sighed.  
"Well, shall we be off?" He asked, and they all nodded, and departed for the manor.

Present Time....

Night hung in silent suspense over the Duke's manor, and not a sound was made as swift light feet ran across the rooftops that covered the manor. The mysterious intruder, a female, wasn't visible in the dark, but every so often she ran into spots with moonlight bearing down on the roof. Silvery white hair flowed freely and silently as she ran across the roof, and soft amber eyes trained themselves on its destination, which was Luke's room. The intruder wore a white t-shirt, and white sleek pants, with white fur wrapping around the ankles, and shoulders. As she ran, the intruder replayed the plan she had cleverly come up with for this one night, and she quietly reached into her left pocket, and her fingers wrapped around a slip of parchment paper, bound together by a red ribbon. She sighed in relief as soon as she knew that the paper was still there, and once she was right above Luke's room, she stopped running. As silently as she could, the intruder slid off of the roof, and dangled her self right in front of his window. She let her feet hang freely in the air until she felt them touch solid ground. She sighed quietly, and slowly heaved herself into Luke's room. Luke slept soundly on his bed, laying sprawled out in several directions, his left leg dangling off of the bed. The intruder reached into her pocket, and began to produce the parchment paper, when she heard the doorknob on the other side of the room jiggle quietly. She gasped silently, and quickly produced the piece of paper. She nimbly set the note on a dresser that was right beside the bed, and she quickly got back to the window, and flung herself out. As soon as she hit the ground, she began to run, quickly and quietly, into the trees nearby.

The next morning, Luke awoke to the sweet chirping of birds right outside his window, and light shone through his window. He let out a loud yawn as he stretched slowly, and after much hesitation, he picked himself up and got to his feet. He yawned a little more, and let his eyes wander around the room for awhile. They passed over a mirror in the room, his bed, and the dresser that was on the far end of the bed. His eyes fell on a slip of parchment paper, bound by a shiny red ribbon, and calmly, the young scion made his way over to the desk, and picked up the piece of paper. He read the front of the slip, and raised an eyebrow. It read:  
_To the young Duke of batical:  
_Luke frowned, but unwrapped the ribbon and threw it aside and opened the letter.

_Dear Luke Fon Fabre:  
It is good to know that you are finally back home, safe and sound. It is even better to know that your family and friends are overjoyed with your return. But right now, as these words are written, there is something terrible and catastrophic that a dark group of assassins are planning. I don't know a lot of the details of their plans, but it involves releasing ancient beasts, and disastrous weather onto Auldrant. As I write these words, I haven't much time to tell you. I know this is alot to take in, but I hope that I'm not making a mistake in trusting you with this knowledge. The group that I mentioned is planning a raid on Kimlasca the day after a festival, and then they will come to the manor, for you. I implore you that you get to safety and avoid them at all costs. If you go to Sheridan, you will find something that will take you someplace safe, and bring your friends too, you might need their help. I cannot assist you in person, but hopefully, with the sending of this letter, I am giving you much of what you need, and that you can get away safely.  
I am sorry that it has to be this way, but Auldrant and my home is at stake. If you don't escape and uproot them, then there will be catastrophe on both worlds.  
This is my request to you, young Fabre. I trust you can handle the rest. Good luck..._

Sincerely, The Silver Maiden.

Luke's hands quivered as he read the letter, troubled by the thought of a new threat to his home. After finishing the letter, without a moments hesitation, Luke grabbed his sword, strapped it to his back, and ran to his door, opened it, and ran out of his room to find his friends.

* * *

A/N-I hope that it wasn't rushed, this first chapter, but I also hope you enjoy this first chapter. I am going to work hard on this story, and I will certainly make it better in any way possible. So please R&R and tell me what you think. I'll be glad to return the favor!  
Sayonara!


	2. Chapter 2: Fenrir, Snow Nation

A/N: Thanks a ton to co426e for reviewing last chapter, that boosts confidence levels dramatically, well, in a sense. Actually it does in a lot of senses, and I don't know where I'm going with this so I'll just stop. Longer chapter this time, and the onslaught, er, appearance of the OC's begin in this chapter. I shall say this now, that I do not own Tales of the Abyss or any of its characters, for they are Namco's property. I do own the abundance of OC's that will appear, and by the way, profiles will be up as the OC's appear. Also, the intro of this, other world, is in this chapter (I don't know if you would call it an original world, so I'll just call it as it is). I can't wait to start this, so I'm gonna stop talking now.

_"Thoughts"_

"Normal Spech"

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

Chapter 2: Fenrir, Snow Nation

Luke, who was known to be rash and quick-decisive, was being even more rash than usual. He was blazing down the hallways of his manor to find his friends. Just seconds before, he had woken to birds, sunshine, and a note that said his home was in danger, again. He began running what he had read just moments ago as he rounded a corner.

_"So lets see, if I'm not mistaken, that letter I read said that I need to escape, and that I need to figure out why people are going to attack." _Luke thought to himself as he rounded another corner and noticed that stairs were coming into view.

_"But If I am to actually figure anything out, I'll need all of my friends, cause I know they'll stand by me once I show them the letter." _Luke continued his train of thoughts until he becamed too engrossed in them to pay attention to where he was going, and ended up running smack dab into Guy, who was in the main hall of the manor. Guy nearly fell completely backwards, and Luke almost did the same. Guy rubbed his forehead as he picked himself back up off of the ground.

"Gah, Luke, watch where you're going." He moaned as he helped his red head friend to his feet. Luke grinned sheepishly, but the look dissapeared off of his face as he remembered why he was running so fast in the first place.

"Oh, Guy! There's something I need to show you! It's urgent!" He said, and began to reach into his pocket when Guy sighed, just as Tear and Anise walked into the room as well, and were apparently still half asleep.

"Luke, there's nothing so urgent that you'd have to literally plow into me at full speed." Guy grumbled in annoyance. Luke rolled his eyes, noting to himself that Guy was still half asleep as well as the others in the room, and now he was grumpy that Luke had plowed into him on accident. Luke opened his mouth to speak, when the haunting voice of Jade cut him off.

"Ah, Luke. Morning. So, You nearly knocked Guy over then? Something must be up. Anything important?" The colonel asked as he came out of the shadows that hung in the room. It was still morning, and still pretty early, so there wasn't much light filtering in, which was wierd because seconds earlier it was bright and sunny. Luke walked over to Jade and handed him the letter that the mysterious "Silver Maiden" had given him. As the Necromancer scanned the piece of paper, Guy continued to roll his eyes at Luke, as Natalia entered the scene as well.

"Morning everyone. Sleep well?" She asked. Everyone stared at her, and slowly nodded. Guy eventually just sighed after the short silence that followed Natalia's entrance comment.

"Luke whatever you found, I'm sure that it's just a prank. No one is stupid enough to make a note, saying that it is urgent." Guy said. Luke began to open his mouth, but Jade got to that point first, his eyes wide.

"Luke, where did this come from?" He asked in his serious tone. Luke turned to the colonel.

"It was on the dresser by my bed when I woke up. I was worried that it was something serious, so I came to find you guys. But someone," Luke began to say as he shot Guy a look of disdain, and continued. "Thought that I was making this up." Jade shook his head.

"Guy, take Luke seriously. I've seen the runes on this slip of paper before. They're ancient. Very ancient, and not one that a normal citizen would know." He said, as he handed the slip of paper to Guy who was now a little more interested. Tear frowned, now fully awake.

"Who does it say it's from?" She asked, and Luke turned to the melodist, giving her a look of slight pleasure, that people were actually listening when he spoke.

"The slip of paper was signed by someone, called the Silver Maiden." He responded, and ruffled his hair, frustrated. Guy now had widened eyes as he heard those words and was reading the slip of paper.

"This is serious. If this slip of paper is from who I think it's from, then we need to see King Ingobert. We need to tell him right away." He said, and handed the slip of paper back to Luke, who slipped it back into his pocket.

"Right, then lets hurry. Uncle should be up at this point, and knowing him, if he knows about history then he'll want to hear about this." Luke said, and turned his head towards the exit of the room.

"Come on guys, lets go." He said, and quickly walked to the door, opened it, and walked out. Followed by his companions and close friends.

* * *

The six of them silently made their way through the open walkways outside, and followed the pavement as it weaved and spun around the grass. It wasn't terribly bright outside, so they didn't have to shield their eyes. Normally, someone visiting the castle would have to bear with the bright rays from the sun that would shine from just behind the castle. The six companions quietly stepped up to the front entrance, and Luke turned to them all. They all nodded, and slowly, the young scion opened the front door and slipped inside. Once they were all safely in, they lightly ran across the floor that would shine ever so vibrantly during full day. One by one, they swiftly shifted across the open area until they were directly in the throne room. King Ingobert IV sat on his throne, hand pressed to his face, apparently asleep. Duke Fabre was also sitting on the other throne, deep in thought about something. Luke cleared his throat as he came into Fabre's line of sight, jerking the Duke out of whatever trance he was in before.

"Luke, what are you doing up at this hour? It is hardly even light out." He asked quickly. The young scion stepped forward as Ingobert slowly aroused from his own daze.

"Father, I need to show you something, it's very urgent, but because of how urgent it is, I can't show you. Instead I'll tell you. Earlier I woke up, and found a letter by my dresser. It contained information, that clearly states that we are in danger. More or less me. It said it was from someone named The Silver Maiden." Luke spoke and watched the elders in the room as they both grew expressions of shock.

"Silver Maiden? But no one has even used that word in a very long time." Duke Fabre said, and looked at his son, who was lost in thought. Then the Duke turned his gaze on Jade.

"Colonel Curtiss, how much do you know of the origin of the Silver Maiden?" The Duke asked. Jade sighed as he began to speak.

"Way back before, when Yulia still lived, there was open paths. Paths that led to an outside world beside our own. It's name was in ancient hispanic, and it was called Aerment. The name means "encompassing land of the elements". During that time, when things were going bad here, when Yulia was sick, a war was being fought on Aerment, one that lasted a very long time. It's flames were finally extinguished after some hundred years, but fifteen years ago, when people like Guy, Tear, Asch and Natalia were children, that war reignited. To shed some light on this world, there are five standing nations, because one sank during the war. There is: Esefalss of Elves, Vampiria, of the Vampire folk, Aldevia of the winged kin, Vedaria, home to many sages, and Fenrir, land of the wolves. The war was finally doused after five years of struggle, but peace can only last so long, for the heir to Fenrir's throne, their very own princess, dissapeared." As he told this story, Jade looked around to see the expressions of his companions, and many had shocked expressions. Grinning, the Necromancer continued.

"That last part is actually current, and there are several places being closed off. I didn't know that there was anyone with access to Auldrant from that world, but I suppose we shouldn't be suprised." He continued speaking, and was ready to go on, when a Kimlascan knight dashed into the room.

"Your majesty! There is an unknown group of armored units heading towards the city! They bear arms, and we can't tell who they are!" The knight said in between breathes as he panted. Both Ingobert and Duke Fabre gasped. They gave each other a nod, and then looked to Luke.

"Luke, Natalia, everyone. You need to get out of here fast. Whoever these invaders are, they aren't friendly. Use the hidden stairwell below my throne, and head to Sheriden. If your in the air, at least they cannot get to you." Ingobert said, and quickly stepped off of his throne, which suddenly slid out of place, revealing a hidden stairwell. Luke simply nodded, and after turning to his friends and nodding, they all ran towards the stairwell, and quickly stepped down the dark stairway. Once they were all gone, Ingobert slid the Throne back into place, just as several knights began to fill the room. Their armor was covered in black, with a crimson wing pattern splattered across the chest. A much more elegant man entered the room. Thick, long crimson colored hair fell to his mid back, and dark emerald eyes scanned the room. The man wore an outfit with a dark blue color, hinting at black lines running through it. Black boots were covering the mans feet, who was wielding a massive ax in one hand. Quickly and loudly, he spoke.

"Where is the boy?" He simply shouted. Duke Fabre frowned.

"I'd rather die than let you near my son, Maxillius." He hissed. The man named Maxillius laughed.

"You'd rather DIE? Hah! There isn't much for me do to but kill you for hiding him, but since we need you alive, I apparently can't. Instead, I'll just take your city hostage instead." He laughed, and more knights began to fill the room.

* * *

Luke and his friends wasted no time in getting to Sheriden, a place which many people refered to simple as the mechanics port town. The six of them ran as fast as they could once they entered the city, to get to where Noelle, their pilot was in waiting. As they ran, there were thoughts running through their heads about what had happened here before. Things like "I still can't believe we let Iemon and the others die", ran throught their minds. It didn't stay that way for long however, because before they knew it, they were at the entrance to the shack. Noelle was waiting for them, suprisingly.

"Everyone! Quickly! Inside!" She called out to them as she waved. Luke and Tear waved back, and they all ran into the shack. Inside the building, it hadn't changed much, expect there was a few new work areas inserted in the large area. Noelle wasted no time in running towards the back of the building where they kept the Albiore II docked. That silence never lasted either, because as soon as the Albiore II came into view, there was the sound of a door being slammed open, and the sound of clanking metal echoed through the halls.

"Dammit! They caught up with us!" Luke cursed as he and Guy unsheathed their blades. Tear retrieved her staff, Jade materialized his spear and Natalia readied her bow. Anise just had Tokunaga enlarge, ready for battle. They didn't have to wait long, because several black armored knights began to file into the open area, armed with poleaxes. Luckily, the others were at the far end of the room in front of the Albiore II. Jade turned to Noelle.

"Get the Albiore running! We'll come aboard as soon as you have it ready!" He commanded. Noelle nodded, who was peeking her head out the window, and went to work. Jade joined his allies in battle, who were fairing well. Knight after knight were falling to the ground, the armor making loud thuds as they struck the earth. Two knights tried to double team Guy, but the swift swordsman had other plans. With a swift sideways slash, Guy defeated both knights who clattered to the ground, letting their axes fall to the ground in the process. Anise was just hacking away with Tokunaga, and she was smashing knight after knight into the ground with the doll's huge fists. Natalia was also having luck. She was using the wide area to her advantage, and released a large volley of arrows.

"Gallent Stroke!" She shouted, and the arrows imbedded themselves into several incoming knights, who immediately fell to the ground. Jade was slicing through the knights, and Luke and Tear were side by side, cutting down the black armored men. Noelle instantly peeked her head back out the front window.

"Come on guys! The engines are ready to go!" She called out. Jade nodded, and then called to his friends.

"Lets go everyone! We can get away now!" He shouted, and after impaling an incoming black armored knight, he hid his spear and began to run towards the Albiore II. Guy looked to Natalia, who nodded. They both got to each other's sides, and attacked the two closest knights. They put their weapons away and ran for the Albiore, followed by Anise. Tear and Luke looked to eachother, and smiled. They both impaled an incoming knight, and then put their weapons away. They began to run for the flying machine, where their friends were waiting, when Guy suddenly shouted.

"Luke! Look out!" Luke didn't look in time to see where Guy was pointing, but Tear did. She threw herself in the line of fire of the attack that was executed. An axe was flying towards the young Fabre, but Tear got in the way, and instead of Luke, it sliced through Tear's shoulder. The melodist cried out in pain, causing Luke to jerk. He quickly wrapped an arm around his friend, and picked her up off her feet. He began to sprint really fast, until he was safely on board the Albiore. Jade cursed silently and turned to Noelle.

"Close the hatch! We need to go!" He shouted. Noelle nodded.

"Roger!" She responded, and hit a button on the Albiore's control board. Almost instantly, the front hatch shut, and they were in the air.

Once they were, Luke gently set Tear down on the ground, who was gripping her shoulder. Natalia knelt beside the pair, and looked to Luke, who nodded, and moved out of the way. Natalia began to work at Tear's wound, and Luke looked to Jade, who was pondering something.

"How are we supposed to help this person if we can't even get to their home?" Luke asked out loud. Noelle smiled, and looked back to the red-head.

"Don't worry about that. This was forwarded to me before it was to you, and there is a new mechanism in the Albiore. It lets me contact Sheriden wherever I am, and control the main facilities features from up here. There was work being done on a PathOpener, and now it's finished. I'll open the gate, but I can only get you so close. Once you are, you'll have to jump." She said, and looked away at the words, "You'll have to jump." Jade just nodded.

"We understand. This is more than we could have hoped for." He said. Noelle nodded, and went straight to work on getting the gate open. Luke turned to Natalia.

"Hows Tear's wound?" He asked curiously. Natalia didn't spare the young Duke a look, but spoke.

"Well, the axe tore pretty deep into her arm. I'm afraid the most I can do is stop the pain for awhile until we find the closest town or city in Aerment." She responded. Luke nodded, and then turned to Guy.

"Thanks for the warning Guy." He said to his blond friend, who sighed.

"Think of it as, I'm sorry for not believing you before. And I didn't want an axe sticking out of my best friend." He said, and couldn't resist a grin. Luke let a small smile show, and then looked at Anise.

"Great job back there Anise." He complimented. Anise giggled gleefully.

"I know! It was so much fun! Smashing those knight jerks into the ground, ahh the pleasure in it." She said dreamily, and began to doze off into her own world, when the whole ship jerked forward suddenly. Everyone lurched forward, save for Jade who just sat cross armed. Noelle laughed sheepishly as they all got their bearings back.

"Sorry, using the gate-summon function shifts the fonons in the air heavily. Must have been forceful on the air." She commented. Jade nodded and looked out the window as he glanced at the strange wormhole that was opening up in the sky, as Noelle slowly closed in on it.

"Yes, especially since Aerment banished Fonon's from its midst, and is replaced by Sol." He commented. Everyone looked to Jade, confused expressions on their faces.

"Sol is the energy of the spirits that reside in Aerment, they pass that energy through the world, and life is sustained. On Aerment, every living being is made up of Sol particles, just as we are of Fonon's." Jade explained. Guy nodded.

"I see, so It's like the Fonon's of Aerment then." He said. Jade nodded and then the ship jerked again when they got so close to the wormhole, that the ships nose was nearly passing through it. Noelle turned to the others.

"This is where you jump guys." She said nervously. They all just nodded, and Luke helped Tear to her feet, where he then sweeped the young decendant off her feet, and into his arms. Natalia rose to her feet, as did Anise, Guy and Jade. The Necromancer opened the top window that was overhead, and they all climbed out so they were on top of the Albiore. Once they were, the top window was shut once more, and they all walked in front of the wormhole. They could all feel the fierce energy radiating from the gate. Natalia shivered.

"You sure this is a good idea?" She asked. Jade just looked back to her, him being in front naturally, and grinned as his glassed shined.

"Yes, because I don't see any other ideas coming from you guys." He said, and without further speaking, the strange Necromancer leaped into the gate. Guy sighed.

"I swear. Sometimes I think he enjoyes it when we're nervous." He said quietly, and jumped in after the colonel. Natalia and Anise shrugged, and followed in after the two men. Luke looked down at Tear, who was blushing.

"L-Luke! Come on lets go! We're going to fall behind!" She said. Luke grinned, and with his friend in arms, he jumped into the gate after his friends.

* * *

The six of them felt like all dimensions were being torn apart while they fell, flew, through the gate, and although they couldn't see eachother, they knew that they were close. Once they all saw a light coming up ahead, they all braced themselves for a harsh landing.

Which never came. Luke, Natalia, Anise, Guy, Jade, and Tear found themselves face first in, white powder, that was wet.  
Snow.

Luke quickly picked himself up off of the ground and began to try and dry himself by shaking his clothes. Guy and Jade chuckled as they got to their feet, and Natalia and Anise laughed too. Luke shot them all glares, when he realised that Tear was sitting along in the snow, face first. He quickly ran over to her, and gently lifted his friend to a sitting position. The melodist grinned weakly.

"For the record, I've saved you twice now." She said, before drifting into unconsciousness. Luke quickly wrapped an arm around Tear's waist, and lifted the young girl off the ground. With Tear in his arms, he turned to the others. Natalia frowned.

"I could have sworn I made that wound at least a little better." She muttered. Jade shook his head.

"No, the cold temperatures would make it worse, especially in free-falling snow conditions like these." He said grimly. He was about to continue speaking, when someone cut him off.

"Hey! You alright over there?" The voice sounded young, no older than fifteen-sixteen. Luke and the others turned to see a young boy running up to them. Snow-white hair slid down his face, and clear, tear colored eyes followed their path. A dark blue vest was covering the upper bodym with a jacket going over it. Slick dark blue pants went down to his feet, which were covered by dark colored boots. Jade narrowed his eyes as the boy neared. Luke ignored what the colonel meant as a warning, and made his way over to greet the boy, who nearly upon them.

"We need help. Our friend was attacked by, beasts, and we need to get some medical treatment. Can you help us?" Luke asked. The boy nodded.

"Sure thing. Follow me, there's a medic wing at the mercenary guild building in the northern part of town." The boy said, and motioned for them to follow him. He began to run, when he looked over his shoulder.

"Oh, and I'm Riy. Nice to meet you." He said, before taking off again. Without a moments hesitation, Luke ran off after the boy. Guy and the others spared each other a look before following after their red-head friend and their mysterious guide.

* * *

A/N-Finally! That felt like it took forever! I'm glad I finished it tonight, cause I'm afraid if I didn't finish it tonight, then I might forget. If anyone is wondering, I will continue The New Lands Collide starting tomorrow, hopefully. Anyways, got to go but thanks again to co426e for reviewing, and the comment. I definitely hope this is better than last chapter. Tell me what you think! R&R and tell me, but for now, I am away.

Sayonara!


	3. Chapter 3: Mysterious Mercenary

A/N-Yeaaargh! I apologize to anyone who had a hard time reading last chapter, I couldn't think straight! But now that shouldn't be an issue, for awhile anyways now that their on Aerment, and it's totally new to you readers. Thanks to the reviewers last chapter, which were: co426e, and RKF22. I hope that this chapter is any better than the last one. I'll be sure to have more detail and scenes inbetween cities, as last chapter left out any required ones. Also, for reference I am working on a world map for Aerment, and once its done, I'll put it up on deviantart. The link shall appear once it is finished. That being said, I do not own Tales of the Abyss, but Fenrir and all its citizens belong to me! Mwa ha ha! Wait, you weren't supposed to hear that. Uh....you can read now......

Chapter 3-Mysterious Mercenary

Snow was falling freely in mercenary port town that Luke and company were in, but peace was not there. Everyone in his team were being led to a place called the Mercenary Guild Center, by a mysterious young boy named Riy. The city they were in was a sight to behold, despite the situation that they were in. The ground was white, as far as the eye could see. Covered in slick, powdery snow all around. Buildings were drenched heavily in the free fall, and shops were being operated indoors. There were ships in port, each one different than the last. As they ran, Jade made a mental note of one particular ship, that was close to this building they were heading to. The machine was made of what appeared to be orichalcum, a rare metal on Auldrant. The hull of the ship shone out over the others right below the grey clouds overhead. The mast and sails shot towards the sky and what looked to be cannons were sticking out of the sides of this bestal ship. Riy quickly led the group around daily citizens and travelers, weaving through the abundance of people. Luke was close behind, followed by Guy and Natalia, Jade and Anise. As they ran through the crowd, they all took care not to step on anyone or bump into them. A collosel building soon came into view, pillars of stone and banners sprung from several directions off of the building. It was formed of layer upon layer of obsidian stone, and limestone as well. Luke and company were as quick as they possibly could be, and remained right behind Riy. He led them through a large open doorway, and finally to their destination. Inside the building was a lot different than outside its shell. An abundance of vibrance and life filled the Guild Center, with red posters, brown wanted lists, and several mission lists plastered on different walls. There was a notice board by the left side of the entrance, with notes written by the Guild on it. Straight ahead upon entering, was an elliptical desk, papers and pens littered it. The main hall split into two seperate hallways that went left or right. Doors were visible from the entrance, but not the closest ones. There was a fresh scent of perfume in the air as everyone entered. A fairly tanned man was sitting at the oval desk, writing something on paper, wearing brown khaki pants and a brown leather shirt. Short shaggy hair nested atop his head, and dark brown eyes stared at a piece of paper. When he heard something approach, he lifted his head up to see Luke, Riy and the others. He grinned at the sight.

"Ah, Riy. Your back. I assume that your latest mission with Thyne went well?" The manager asked. The white haired boy nodded. 

"We can talk about it later. Right now these travelers need some help. Their companion is wounded. Is the medical wing open right now?" He asked. The brown haired manager nodded.

"Ah, yes it is in fact. You know someone was looking for you earlier. Urgent notice." He answered, and lifted the piece of paper he was staring at before, and gave it to Riy. The boy nodded and folded the sheet of paper up and put it in his pocket.

"I'll take a look at it later. Right now I want to help these travelers." He said quickly, and turned to the others behind him.

"Come, the wing is this way." He said, and motioned for them to follow him. Not waiting to see if they were, he walked off towards the right hall. Luke began to walk forward, but Jade put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hold up Luke. Right now we can't trust anyone just yet. We need to know just what the situation here is." He said warned firmly, not letting go of the red head's shoulder. Luke attempted to break away from the Necromancer's grasp, but it was futile. Natalia stomped her foot.

"Jade! This can wait. We need to help Tear first." She said indignantly, locking her eyes with Jade. Guy nodded, agreeing with Natalia.

"She's right. Right now we've got to help Tear. Friends come before anything else right now." He added, walking next to the Kimlascan princess. Jade sighed, and let go of Luke, who instantly sprinted in the direction of Riy's path. Anise waved her arms franticly, and ran off after him.

"W-wait! Luke, wait for us!" She called franticly and as she ran. Guy just sighed.

"I really wonder sometimes about that boy. What goes on in his head I mean." He said, and then dashed off after Luke and Anise. Natalia walked over to Jade.

"Colonel, do you think we can trust that boy?" She asked nervously while looking around. Jade nodded with unease.

"For now we can. We need all the help we can get, and from the looks of it, he's an okay person." He answered, and then nodded to her, signaling they needed to catch up with the others. They both nodded, and then began to run after the others.

The medical wing of the building was white, fitting right in with the scene outside. White bedspreads, and pillows too. When Guy, Anise, Natalia and Jade caught up with Luke and Riy, they were already in the room. A medic was standing beside a pure white bed, where Tear was laying in. Riy turned around to see the others arriving as the medic began to heal the wound on the melodist's shoulder.

"Ah, there you are. Was beginning to wonder where you dissapeared to." He greeted as they came in. Jade gave him a look of annoyance, and began to speak about Tear.

"How bad is the wound?" He asked. Riy looked back to the bed where the medic was healing the wound, and sighed.

"Your lucky it isn't too serious. But it's strange though. There have been more and more reports about monsters and wildlife attacking travelers. Normally that is uncommon, unless you stumble into a nest of them. Then you'll make them mad." He responded while watching the operation. Guy put a hand to his chin and began to ponder. Anise also thought for a second, before grinning madly.

"Hey, Riy-san? How old are you?" She asked in a hopeful tone. Riy laughed softly and looked back at her.

"Fourteen. Why?" He asked, and upon saying that, everyone stared at him in shock. Guy chuckled nervously.

"Really? Your fourteen and working as a mercenary?" He asked. Riy nodded his head, saying a simple "yes".

"Well, yeah. But that's actually a personal story of mine. Besides the head of the Guild here, no one knows why I'm here at a young age." He answered as he watched Anise who was processing thoughts, giving off looks of happiness and glee, others of amusement. Natalia looked around the room while avoiding Anise's gaze.

"If your a mercenary, then you must know how to fight. What kind of weapon do you use?" She questioned. Riy ruffled the back of his head with his hand and responded to the question slowly.

"Well, I was taught the blade when I was, eight. Then later I learned to wield two swords at once." He said, pausing as he said eight, as if it was painful to say. He opened his jaw to speak more to ease the silence in the room, when a creaking sound alerted everyone to the fact that Tear was awake and staring at them. She blinked a few times before frowning while everyone stared, save for Riy.

"What? Is there something on my face?" She asked, and touched her lip as she said that. Guy began to laugh.

"Nah. It's just, you were unconscious, and if we didn't bring you here, then we'd never hear the end of it from Luke." He responded eagerly, earning a well deserved smack from the mentioned teen. Jade pushed his glasses up as he spoke.

"Well, now that your awake, I suppose we can start moving again? If no one has any objections that is." He suggested. Natalia shook her head suprisingly, and looked to Riy.

"Wait, we haven't even said thank you to this young man. And plus I'm a little curious to know what that note says." She, eyeing the boy cautiously. Riy raised an eyebrow.

"You want to know what my note says? It's important from what the Guild manager said, and once you know, then you might have to come with me." He said, slightly tilting his head. Luke smiled.

"So? We do owe you one. After all, you really helped us out." He agreed with Natalia. Riy bowed his head slightly, then nodded.

"Very well then. Lets see what this says." He agreed as Tear walked over to them. Riy took out the piece of paper, and unfolded it, before he began to read.

_To Riy Veilheart._

_This message is important, so bear with me. I am Toran Eldia, perhaps you've heard of me. I belong to the Silver Wolves, the mercenary guild in service to House Fenrir. As you probably know, our very own Princess Renne Araa is missing from the capitol, and has not been seen in a long time. I would search myself, but the entire Silver Wolves clan is being watched by the Exile Unit, led by Commander Leon Maggus, and in service to Akedime, the demonic nation. They are after the princess as well. If you take this job up, I assure you the reward is worth it. I have a few leads you can follow right here. One rumor suggests, that the princess has been making trips in and out of Edlas, the last Fox country. She was last seen at Celtras, the crossroad city. You know that is where you can get passes to go to places like Aldevia, Avian Skies. Or you can get a pass to go to the capitol itself, for special events.  
As I write these words, I am watched. If this note is in your hands right now, then you should leave very quickly, as in now. The enemy has tracked this note from city to city, and if they find it here, the entire place is doomed. Hurry, and should you find milady, tell her who sent you.  
If you are with companions, journey as a team, not seperate.  
Toran Eldia, Silver Wolves Leader._

Riy slowly lowered the sheet of paper as he finished reading those words, speechless. Anise frowned.

"Who's Toran Eldia?" She asked aloud. Riy furrowed his brows as he slipped the paper into his pocket, and headed for the door that was behind Guy.

"A famous Wolf. He's known throughout the world as one of the best swordsmen of all time. He's never been beaten." Was his ready reply. Guy stepped aside to allow Riy to open the door. He yanked it open, and motioned to the others.  
"See? Karma has a funny way of happening. Now you have to come with me if you want to get out of here." He said, and began to leave the room, when Natalia stopped him with her voice.

"Wait! We might fight people. How are you going to?" She asked, and her question was met with Riy's response, which was to kick the wall he faced after exiting, causing a drawer to pop out. Two swords sheaths were sticking out, and Riy instantly grabbed them, hooked them at his waist and kicked the drawer back shut.

"There. Now I can." He grinned before running off. Tear sighed.

"I hope we can trust this boy to get us out of here." She muttered. Luke just grinned, and ran out of the room, followed by his five companions. They all dashed through the hallways, passing by several wooden doors. Numbers wizzed by as the hallway seemed to get short. Before they knew it, they were back at the entrance to the Guild Center. Guy sighed with relief.

"Whew, we can go now." He said. Jade wasn't so certain of this safety, and looked around. Riy was quiet too, and was on alert as well. Natalia looked at them both in confusion.

"What's the matter?" She asked, and got her answer. A loud explosion went off, and instantly the building was filled with smoke and flames. Everyone hit the ground as the blast shook the building, but they quickly picked themselves up. Luke cursed.

"Agh, dammit. They're already here?" He shouted. Riy covered his mouth and waved with his hand for the others to follow him. They all quickly dashed for the open doors with their arms covering their mouths, and entered the white snow land once again.  
Except that it was not white anymore.

Flames engulfed every building in the city, and bodies littered the ground. Luke stared in horror and in fury at the spectacle.  
"This, this is just like-" He began to say Akzeriuth, but the sound of clanking metal cut him off.

"Over here! I've found stragglers from the city! Don't let them escape!" Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, and saw a grey armored knight, similar to an oracle uniform, but the helmet took shape of a hawks head. Several more knights joined the first, each wielding a sword in hand. Luke and his companions all produced their weapons, and raised them to fight. The knights made the first move by charging forward, weapons raised. Luke and Guy dashed forward to meet the enemy, instantly hacking away at them like weeds in a garden. One by one, bodies hit the floor. Other knights went around the two swordsmen, and went for the women, but they were ready. Anise had Tokunaga all fired up, and she began to pound away at the incoming knights. She made dents in the ground with Tokunaga's fist, and battered bodies were embedded in the ground. Two knights attempted to jump Jade, but he slashed at them with his spear in quick succession. Tear threw three knives at an incoming fighter, who crippled on impact. A second knight was waiting behind the first however, and Tear's eyes went wide. Natalia looked her way as she released a volley of arrows. 

"Tear!" She shouted in alarm. Riy was already on it, and sliced through the enemy with his thin swords. A third knight was right behind him, but Riy spun around and slashed that one too. Jade cursed as he backed away after slicing two more knights.

"Blast, they just keep coming. Riy, is there anyway for us to get out quickly?" He asked, and Riy nodded. He dashed through a crowd of knights, slicing them as he ran, and made his way over to a ship, that suprisingly wasn't aflame. It was the same orichalcum ship from before. He hailed out to his new companions.

"Everyone! Over here!" He shouted. He boarded the ship without hesitation, and was shortly joined by Luke, Guy, Natalia, Jade, Anise and Tear. The knights all gathered at the ship which was in port, ready to board it by using a staircase that ran up to the ship, but Riy was quick on his feet, and already at the command room of it. He voiced the command, "Start engine. Set course for Vatrow City". The ships engines roared to life, and instantly, it shot from port, before any knights could board. Once it was safely away from the port and out at sea, he put the ship on auto-pilot, and joined the others on the deck. Guy looked his way as he came into view.

"So where are we headed?" He asked. Riy put a hand on his left blade sheath as he spoke.

"To a merchant city, called Vatrow. A member of the Guild works there, and I know he'd help us out." He responded, and all he got in response was, "okay", from everyone else. Luke did speak up though.

"If we're headed to a new city, we should stock up, right?" He asked, and Riy nodded.

"Yeah, I suppose. Alright, course is set for Vatrow. Sit tight everyone, we'll be there soon." He said, and walked away, probably back to the bridge. Luke just sighed as he walked over to the railing and leaned on it, looking out to the horizon.

"I hope father and everyone back home are okay." He whispered silently, letting his voice carry off into the wind.

A/N-Thanks again to the two who reviewed last chapter. I hope this is better. If not, tell me so I can fix it. I'm glad you like the story though, despite any mistakes there have been so far. I'll be sure to update soon, so be ready for that. I am working on character art for every character that Luke and his friends meet in Aerment. Right now that would include Riy and Maxillius. Also, keep in mind that each main hero/heroine and anti-hero/anti-heroine from Aerment will have a Mystic Arte that I came up with. Next chapter introduces another OC. Thyne. Who is he? Find out next time. I hope your enjoying it so far.  
Sayonara Minna-san!


	4. Chapter 4: The Wolf Child

A/N-Ah, xXSanctusAvaritiaXx, arigato, for the reviews you gave. I'm glad that this is likeable. Also, thanks to co426e for reviewing last chapter as well, I will definitely slow this down, starting with this chapter. So, a bunch of new OCs will show up in this chapter. Eto...1...2...3...4...5...HOLY! Eight new OCs in this chapter are introduced. Originally, this chapter was going to be two seperate ones, but after getting the reviews from the above mentioned reviewers, I felt compelled to make this longer so that I can slow the plot down and add more detail. Also, once you read this chapter a poll will be up on my page. Readers can pick up to three choices. Here's the poll.

Which OC do you like most in Tales of the Abyss: Dawn of the Twins?

Yes, lots of OC's in this chapter. Anways, enjoy!

Chapter 4-Fiery head of the Phoenix Order and the Wolf Child

Sails, raised. Bow of ship, pointed north.  
These details were what filled the mind of Riy, as the vessel he and his new companions were on moved forwards. They technically hijacked it to escape the knights that had watched the armored sea-tank drift off at sea. The wolf boy sat at the control board on the bridge, and was being accompanied by Jade and Guy, who was absolutely fascinated with all the technology. It was like the Tartarus, but there were several seats and switches that popped up from control panels that glowed in the dark room. He was questioning their new companion left and right about how it ran, what kind of energy it used, Etc. Riy was obliged to reply, and he told Guy everything he wanted to know, all while Jade kept a smug grin on his face. Meanwhile down on deck, Luke and the girls of the group were deep in conversation about their new ally, and the new world they were in.

"This place is magnificant. It's so beautiful, with all the snow falling around us, and the people are quite nice too." Natalia commented. She, Tear and Luke were leaning on the railing of the boat, and Anise was sitting it, facing away from the ocean. Luke laughed softly.

"Yeah, I agree with you. Our guide is pretty helpful too. He knows this place well, assuming he grew up here." He added with a grin. Tear nodded, agreeing with her companions, and stuck her own two sense in.

"He certainly pulled his weight during that battle. He's pretty impressive at such a young age." She said. Anise was wearing this smug grin that refused to dissapear from her face.

"Oh, I wonder what kind of family he's from." She said dreamily. All three of her friends shot her an annoyed look.

"ANISE!" Luke, Tear and Natalia shouted in unison, causing Anise to jump slightly and she bounced onto the deck of the ship. She looked at the three of them, meeting their gazes of annoyance with amusement.

"What?" She smirked, and was about to run off, when the ship suddenly rocked forward, causing everyone to jolt forward, while maintaning their balance without falling. Luke was the first one who spoke words clearly.

"W-what the hell?" Was his ever so leader-like response. Natalia struggled to regain her balance as the ship continued to rock back and forth as it sped forward.

"We must have hit something!" She suggested over the noise the rocking made. Tear opened her mouth to speak, when the ship rocked forward again, and it's hull came dangerously close to a port. They had made it. Tear sighed as she kept herself on her feet while walking over to Luke, and Anise who had just started clinging to his leg.

"We're here." Was her only two words. Luke smiled nervously, and nodded.

"Bit of a bumpy ride. No?" He asked sarcastically, and earned a smack in the back of his head by Tear, and Natalia at the same time, all while Jade, Guy and Riy joined them on the deck.

"Sorry about the rough landing everyone." Riy said apologeticly, and rubbed the back of his head. Jade pushed his glasses back up on his face, apparently because they had almost fallen off when the ship was rocked.

"We hit something on the sea floor. It was, alive." He said grimly, wondering what it was. Guy put a hand to his chin and began to ponder, when a voice hailed out to them.

"What the hell Riy? You shouldn't pilot that without a license, or you're bound to crash like that." Everyone walked over to the railing of the ship, and saw a young man, about 18, staring at them with anger. A deep blue vest with a dark blue shirt under it was what he wore on top. The vest had white lines running through it in some areas, and he wore slick, slippery dark blue pants and black shoes. A dark blue cape was draped over his shoulders, and his hair matched the clothing color he had chosen, a dark blue. Fierce blue eyes glared at them. Riy just grinned at the sight.

"Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. Eh Thyne?" He asked, and without even waiting for the others, he leaped over the side of the railing, and landed next to the man named Thyne Fedris, all while wearing a mischevious smile on his face. Thyne frowned.

"What the hell? Seriously! Why are you, first off, here? Piloting that ship? Second, who are they?" He shouted instead of asked, and pointed to Luke, Guy, Natalia, Jade, Anise and Tear. Riy rolled his eyes, frustrated at the older boy's anger.

"Sheesh. No need to get so puffed up Thyne. Their my companions. I'm on an important mission right now." He answered calmly. He turned to Luke and nodded, signaling for him and the others to jump over the railing and join him. The red head did just that, and he motioned to the others to follow him. One by one they hit the ground next to Riy and Thyne. Thyne grunted harshly at them, and turned back to Riy.

"Honestly. What kind of mission would have you, almost destroying a ship?" He asked indignantly. Riy smiled.

"Finding the princess of Fenrir of course." Was his confident reply. The anger on Thyne's face was replaced by amazement.

"Wha-? Who would give you such a task?" He asked. Riy just shrugged.

"Apparently Toran Eldia of the Silver Wolves." He replied surely. Thyne thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Very well Riy, I won't question who they are, just introduce me at the inn." He said quickly. Riy nodded, happy to know that his friend was on the same level as him. He turned to the others and nodded.

"Gladly. Come on Luke, everyone." He said, and turned back around to walk away, into Vatrow. Thyne shrugged and mumbled something, before jogging off to keep up with him. Anise giggled as she watched them walk off.

"Heh heh. There are a number of candidates for me to choose from now. Royalty, and more!" She cried with glee, and lumbered off after the two wolves. Luke and the others sighed, before running off to catch up with the others.

Vatrow was a sight to see.

The pavement there for people to walk on was not covered in snow, in fact it was bare. Yellow limestone walkways were everywhere. Buildings were carved from the same material as the ground, and signs were everywhere. Merchents doing their pleading act to get people to buy their items, and the like. Riy quickly led his companions through a crowd of people, squeezing between the cracks that showed up, and brought them to an inn. It wasn't exactly fancy, but the the sign on the front that said "Open", was a good indicator that it was still in service. Like the other buildings, it was carved from limestone. Only difference here, is that the two floored building had ten rooms on the top floor, and took up a lot of space. Riy turned to the others, and opened the door without looking. Once it was open, he peeked inside, and came face to face with a girl. Medium length forest brown hair lined her back, and forest green eyes looked at him face to face. Feather adornments were sticking out of her head, and she wore a simple brown t-shirt and black jeans. She covered her feet with boots, and she wore an emerald necklace. Her face lit up. 

"Ah, Riy! What are you doing here?" She asked, and began to cling to him. Everyone, minus Thyne and Jade, who was smirking at the sight, gave shocked expressions. Anise personally felt like her dreams were crushed yet again. Riy gently nudged the girl away so that she wasn't embarrassing him.

"A-ah, Farra. That's enough please." He stuttered, and turned to the others.

"Luke, everyone. This is Farra. I met her when I was on a mission. She runs the inn here. Farra, this is Luke, Tear, Guy, Jade, Natalia and Anise. They are traveling with me on an important mission." He introduced, and motioned for each of them to at least smile. Farra did, and she wore a huge smile.

"Nice to meet you. It's nice to know that Riy is making friends out there," She began to say, and looked with disdain in Thyne's direction before finishing her sentence.

"Who don't insult him all the time, or aren't arrogent." Thyne lowered his head.

"Aw, Farra those words hurt you know." He groaned in a fake sad voice. Luke nodded.

"Ah, it's nice to meet you too." He returned the greeting cheerfully. Farra nodded, and opened the door wider, motioning with her arm.

"Come in, you must be tired. I assume you came to rent a room?" She said as they took the gesture, and filed into the in one by one. The inside of the building said much about it. There were paintings hanging on all walls of the first floor. Pictures of past defenders of Fenrir were hung by the reception desk. Farra quickly made her way over to it, and got behind it. There was a shelf behind her that had dishes and some valuable jeweled pieces of art, along with several small sculptures. Farra grinned.

"Since your a friend Riy, I can give you a big discount. For eight of you, that would normally cost about 1800 gald, but now I am reducing for you to only 600. Fair?" She asked curiously. Riy nodded quickly, and from his pocket he produced 1000 gald.

"Here. This extra is for your house." He said while handing it to to the Wolven girl. Farra was shocked, and before anyone knew what happened, she leaped over the desk, and hugged Riy. Everyone gasped, and Anise gave a look that said, "WHAT?" Farra immediately took the money and put the 600 into a drawer, and put the extra in her pocket. She kept a huge smile plastered on her face as she watched Riy. 

"Aw, you always know how to make my day. Thank you." She said gratefully. She then regained her composure and continued to talk in her business voice.

"Well, you can use the second room from the staircase, seeing as how the second floor is just a straight walkway." She added with a hint of amusement at the end of the sentence. Riy nodded.

"Okay. Thanks Farra!" He said as he began to walk towards the staircase at the right side of the room. Natalia, Anise, Jade, Guy and Thyne followed after the mercenary. Tear was about to go and follow them, when she noticed Luke was still looking around. The melodist frowned.

"Luke! Come on or we'll leave you down here!" She said, snapping the boy out of whatever trance he had been in, and head for the stairs followed by Tear.

The party of eight found their way in the inn, and once they had settled down in the room they had payed for, Riy began to explain his mission. As he did, Anise passed glances between the two wolves, thinking about which one was more wealthy. Tear turned to Luke, who was still distracted and staring off into space.

"Luke, what's wrong?" She asked in a worried tone. The young Fabre turned to his melodist friend and sighed.

"Nothings wrong. Just got a strange feeling." He replied quickly as if he were trying to avoid the question. Tear sighed in defeat, knowing she wasn't going to get anything out of him, tonight. Guy was into the conversation however, intruiged as to what the other nations were like. Thyne was rather confused, but Riy ignored the older mercenary and explained.

"Well Guy, Fenrir is the nation of the Wolves. The one we're in right now. Then there is Esefalss, forest nation of the Elves. Vampiria can be reached by crossing a place called Acid Falls, but its risky due to the water there being contaminated. The Vampires of this world live in Vampiria. Then there is Aldevia, the sky kingdom. it's military is the largest the world has. Vedaria is of sages, and Caevara sank during a war several years ago. Akedime, is demon country. The darkest corner of the world I'd say." The mercenary watched Guy's varied reactions that ranged from excitement, to interest, to anger. Jade looked to Thyne, who was dozing off slightly. The Necromancer sighed, and looked to Riy.

"Riy, Acid Falls is contaminated? With what?" He questioned, though he thought he had a pretty good picture of what it was. Riy stopped talking to Guy, and turned to Jade.

"The Falls, is believed to be contaminated with what is known as Miasma." He said grimly. At the word MIasma, everyone minus Thyne and Jade, gasped in unison. Luke was the first to find his voice.

"Miasma? How is-" He began to form the sentence, but found that he was too shocked to finish it. Riy lowered his gaze as he glanced out the window.

"The Falls is contaminated with the poison, which is why no one ever goes there. They can pass through Tenkorenchi Forest, a borderline to Vampiria. Wolves like me and Riy are especially vulnerable to its effects, because of our enhanced senses of smell and hearing." Thyne explained while staring at the distant mercenary in the room. Anise frowned.

"That must suck." She muttered. There was an uncomfertable silence that followed the explanation before Jade spoke up while pushing his glasses up on his face.

"Well, we'd best get some rest if we're to travel tomorrow." He suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement, and after each one of them said their goodnights, they headed off to seperate rooms.

Jade shared a room with Natalia and Anise, while Tear shared with Guy, Riy and Thyne. Luke got his own room. The moon quickly began to shine over the city as all its citizens decided to retire for the night as well. Silence blanketed the harbor and the only thing that could be heard was tbe chirping of crickets. Luke shifted uncomfertably in his sleep, tossing back and forth, not knowing that a figure stood over his bed. The figure leaned closer to Luke, so that he was over his ear. He opened his mouth to speak without hesitation.

"I know why your here, Luke Fon Fabre. You fled from your manor because you could do nothing. Your here to try and find allies to defeat a threat that no one can stop. So if I were you, I'd stop searching for the princess of the wolves, and go home before someone gets hurt." The figure whispered maliciously, causing Luke's body to jerk, and the figure instantly fled out the window. The Fabre shot from his bed and shouted rather suddenly. The bedroom door swung open and Jade ran in.

"Luke! What's wrong?" He questioned seriously. Luke hopped out of bed and quickly got dressed.

"Someone, already knows we're here." He said while pulling his shirt over his body. Once he was all dressed, he ransacked the room until he found his blade. He clipped the sheath to his back and ran over to the door, where Jade was waiting. The Necromancer nodded.

"Someone indeed knows we are here. There are knights in the same armor we saw at Sheriden outside this building. We're surrounded." He said calmly. Luke didn't waste anytime in running out of the room, without responding to the Colonel. Jade sighed, and ran out of the room after him. The two of them quickly thundered down the stairs and found themselves in the main room of the inn. Guy, Thyne, Riy and Tear all had weapons out and were holding back some knights that had made it inside. Upon hearing the footsteps, Tear briefly turned around and her face was filled with horror.

"Luke, no! Their not here for us their here for you!" She pleaded, but the Fabre wouldn't listen and he joined the four of them with his sword in hand. Tear couldn't plead any longer because she got a blunt strike to her chin, knocking her backwards and into unconsciousness. Luke only just made it there when that happened, and he fell to the ground by her side.

"Tear! Hang-" He started to speak, but a maniacal laughter filled the inn. Everyone stopped laughing and on instant, the front walls of the inn were blown in. Fire engulfed limestone and several holes were punched in. Thyne growled under his breath.

"I know that laughter..." He muttered, and wrapped his fingers around his blade, eager to fight the bastard he referred to. Smoke filled the inn as the black armored knights parted so that the man who was laughing could be seen. The long crimson hair that fell down his back stood out above all else, besides the large axe that he was holding. It's design was unlike anything the party had seen. Intricate luminated lines ran through the blade, and thick black metal was what it was made from. A sharp point stuck at the top of the weapon. The man grinned as he watched Luke hold Tear close.

"Ah, the Fabre boy. Your here. Well, this is quite convenient for us. Your coming with me." He laughed, and turned to the knights in the building.

"Restrain his friends. Any disobedience, and that girl he holds now dies." He ordered to the knights. They nodded, and more of them swarmed the party, taking their weapons and keeping their hands behind their back. One by one, they were led out of the inn, until no one was left. Well, except for a head that peeked catiously from behind the desk in the room. Once it glanced around three times, the silent form hurried out from behind the desk, and up the stairs.

Three days.

That's how long it had been since Luke's party had been captured by the man called Maxillius. Thyne had explained to Guy, Jade, Natalia and Anise about the Exile unit, and the divisions that there were. Maxillius headed the Phoenix Order, a group of fire knights. Then there was Adrien of the Serpent Circle, and Daenos of the Dragon Wing. The party of eight had been split to six. Luke was in Maxillius's chambers, and Tear was in a seperate room in case anyone tried something funny. Jade, Anise, Natalia, Guy, Riy and Thyne were all bundled in one cell in a lower portion of the facility they were being held in. When Luke and Co had been captured, they were led through a place called Moonlight Path, past a city called Celtras, and into the Elven Nation itself. They were led around collosel trees and roots before they eventually reached what could be described as a slave facility.  
This all happened three days ago. Maxillius was giving the combo team of Auldrant and Fenrir to either join the Exile Unit, or face the blade. They had been given three days to think, and now it was day three. It was only morning, but the knights in service to Maxillius were set to pick them up about noon. Riy was pacing back and forth, and Guy was leaning against a wall. Thyne was sitting down by the bars that held them in, and Natalia sat next to him. Anise pouted as she sat next to Riy, but Jade was the only one actually grinning right now. Silence was sealed in the room, because no one had talked for two days. Jade finally spoke up after testing the bars for durability.

"Okay then. It's time to get out of here." He said finally. Everyone looked at him as though he were crazy. Guy spoke first.

"Colonel, sorry to sound rude, but there's no way you could break those." He warned. Jade just grinned as he materialized his spear, and swung its sharp point at the bars. It tore right through the door and through some extra bars. Everyone stared in disbelief as Jade motioned with his arm.

"You were saying Guy?" He smirked. Guy just sighed as he and the others slowly filed out of the cell and into the open walkways of the holding hallways. Black stone was lined everywhere to keep the ceiling overhead from collapsing. The knights had left everyones weapons right across from the cell, apparently dumb enough to think they weren't going to escape. Once they all were equiped, they began to run from the cell chamber, and to a black staircase. The pary quickly but quietly climbed the mountain of steps until they reached the top. What was waiting for them was not a pleasant sight. There was two statues in front of the small narrow hallway they were standing in, so they hid behind them, all while survaying the facility.

It was horror.

Wolves were being forced into cruel labor, pushing heavy objects into place. Elves were connected to strange devices, probably for energy. Avian beings were lifting together, pulling heavy stones overhead. Everyone watched in absolute shock at the spectacle. Then they were hit with another suprise. Maxillius was yelling at one of the workers, clearly angry about something. The worker was a female wolf, with medium length turquoise hair. She had on a dark blue long sleave shirt, and slick blue pants. There was a ribbon in her hair that was silver, and she wore black shoes. Apparently, from what the wolves could here, they were arguing.

"What have I told you about watching out for prisoners! If you would stay there, then the risk of them escaping wouldn't be so high! We need the power that the boy contains, and if we can't hold him down while his friends are on the loose, then it's a lost cause. If you don't get back into gear I'm going to-" The Phoenix leader was ranting about disobediance, but a much calmer, younger voice cut him off.

"Is something the matter Lord Maxillius?" Everyone in the wide open space turned to see two knights accompaning a young man with black hair. His bangs fell in front of his left eye, though it was still slightly visable. A red left eye and a blue right eye. He wore a collered black military uniform, and black dress shoes as well. Maxillius seemed like he feared the young man, and so he bowed his head.

"Ah, Master Daenos sir. No, there isn't a problem. I was simply explaining something to one of my workers." He said, covering up the incident with a fake explination. Daenos smiled.

"Good, I'm glad to hear it. You know Commander Leon is favoring your work right now. Your close to finding the princess, the Commander feels that way. If you find her, you know to report immediately." He said, and got a nod from the Phoenix leader. There was a brief silence before Daenos turned on his heel and strode away from the fiery leader and out of sight, accompanied by the two knights that were with him before. Maxillius turned to the girl, less angry.

"Listen. I'm going to let this one slide since Leon is favoring this place. I hope you understand what will happen if you do it again." He warned. The girl he was reprimanding nodded, and ran off to go back to work. Once everything had returned to normal, the party of six huddled.

"Okay. I hate this guy already, so this is how it's going to work. Thyne and I will release the prisoners from their work here and lead them out. Meanwhile, the rest of you head up to Maxillius's chambers and get Luke and Tear. Meet up with us at the entrance of this place." Riy explained quickly not wanting to miss a step. Everyone nodded, and Jade spoke up first.

"Once we meet up at the entrance, lets head for the nearest village. Maybe someone there can point us in the right direction." He suggested and Riy nodded.

"Good idea. Alright everyone, lets get going." He said, and with that, they disbanded from their hiding place.

Guy, Natalia, Anise and Jade wasted no time in sneaking throughout Maxillius's facility, and to an elevator that took them up, to his chambers. They quickly piled inside, and Guy slammed on a button to make the door close. Once they began to move upwards, Jade spoke.

"Well, so far we can trust our two new allies. But something about Thyne isn't right..." He said and trailed off in his thoughts. Guy nodded.

"I know what you mean. There's almost a, sinister air about him." He agreed. Anise put her hands on her hips.

"Well I think he's rich." She commented. Natalia and Guy turned to her.

"ANISE!" They said in unison. Like before, Anise just put on an innocent face that said she wasn't doing anything wrong. They were about to scold the girl more, when the elevator door binged, and opened to reveal a circular room (Think of Magnius's room from Tales of Symphonia. It's kind of like it, but without the device he sat on in the center). Luke was waiting in the center, looking away from them. Guy grinned.

"LUKE!" They all shouted, minus Jade. Luke turned around to see the four of them running towards him.

"Everyone? Luke replied in disbelief. They all ran up to greet him, the scion had not been relinquished of his sword. Unfortunately, they weren't alone. Maxillius's insane laughter echoed through the walls, and on the other side of the circular room, the vile man stepped out from an open doorway, axe in hand.

"Well, this is a suprise. You've all escaped, despite the fact that there were numerous guards around this place. I'm impressed." He snickered, the axe in his hand swaying as he did. Everyone readied their weapons in response to the cruel mans laughter.

"I believe you have someone we came for. Hand her over." Jade warned, pointed his spear threateningly. Maxillius laughed harder.

"You think you can come up here and give ME orders? Hah! If you want the girl back, you'll have to defeat me first." He replied, and added under his breath, "If you can.."  
That comment set the battle off. Without warning, Maxillius dashed forward while brandishing his axe. He slashed with it at Jade and Guy, who both leaped out of the way. Natalia readied a flock of arrows and launched them. They pierced the Phoenix leader's back, causing him to howl in agony. He ripped them out and began to make his way over to the Kimlascan princess. She began to back away, but Luke and Guy both slashed at the man from behind. He shouted in anger and spun around in an attempt to cut them down, but they were too quick. Jade and Anise had been readying spells while the others were keeping Maxillius at bay, and released them in unison.

"Frigid Coffin!"

"Negative Gate!"

Both spells struck the Phoenix General at full force, sending him staggering backwards. He continued to back away from the onslaught, until his back hit a wall. Everyone held their weapons up, ready to strike. Maxillius shifted away from the wall, not knowing that he was moving towards the door he had entered the room through, or that Tear was waiting for him, bladed staff in hand. As soon as he was close enough, she impaled him.

"Eh heh heh. Your, not half bad. But even though you have won this fight, I won't die. So long...as the Six Guardians...are sealed away...I cannot...die..." He said, and inbetween words he spat out blood. He fell to his knees and then face first in the ground. His axe clattered uselessly on the ground and then he was engulfed in flame. Every sheilded their eyes from the bright light, until it faded, and the General was gone. Not even a corpse remained. Once that event was over, Tear walked over to Luke, and hugged him. Anise tried to keep a grin from forming, but it was futile, and it spread across her face. Jade's was larger however.

"Luke, I'm glad your alright." Tear mumbled. Luke just nodded, and slowly nudged the melodist away. They broke the hug and turned to the others. Noticing that they were a few heads short, Luke frowned.

"Hey, where's Riy and Thyne?" He asked nervously. He got his answer, as the younger mercenary bolted from the elevator as it binged and opened, followed by the girl from earlier.

"Lets go. We need to get out of here." He said quickly. Natalia gave a look of confusion.

"Why? We defeated that man. No one is going to stop us." She questioned. The girl beside Riy shook her head.

"No, but Thyne will." She replied. Everyone gasped, save for Guy and Jade, who pushed his glasses up on his face.

"So he's a traitor." He said grimly. Riy nodded, clutching his side as he caught his breath.

"Yes. This is Erika, his younger sister. She was also suprised by this turn of events." He introduced, and then winced. Tear frowned.

"Your wounded. What happened exactly?" She asked softly. Riy nodded, while motioning for the others to get in the elevator. Once they were all squeezed inside, he hit the button that took them to the main area and the door closed. Riy turned to the others.

"We were evacuating the workers here, and that's when he attacked me out of the blue. Thyne is a skilled swordsman, I wouldn't get on his badside if I was anyone else." He explained as the elevator cruised down to the first floor. Guy put a hand to his chin.

"I see. I think we should get to the nearest village still, and speak with the elder." He suggested. Riy nodded, and looked to Erika.

"Yeah, and lets take Erika with us. She's a fencer. She can help us out." He added. Everyone nodded, and then there was a bing. The elevator door opened, and everyone almost flew out of the elevator and their first sight was Thyne. He was wielding his blade in his right hand, grinning. Luke cursed as he pulled his sword out.

"You bastard." He seethed while gripping his blade fiercely. Thyne laughed as he sheathed his own sword.

"Come now, that was uncalled for. After all, I know where the princess you seek is." He chuckled. Now everyone readied their weapons and pointed them at Thyne. Jade was first to point.

"Where?" He questioned malevolently. Thyne just shrugged and lifted his hands up.

"In the heart of Esefalss, a place called Falar. No elf is allowed there without Elder Masaar's content." He replied, and turned to leave, when he gave one last look over his shoulder.

"Riy. Masaar lives in the closest village to this place. I suggest you visit there before going into Falar." He added, before getting out their sight. Everyone stood there for a moment before putting their weapons away. Luke turned around and looked at everyone.

"I think we should take his word for it, and head for the village." He said. Everyone nodded uneasily, and then they headed out.

The village that Thyne referred to, was called Alta. It was native wolven tongue for Heart City.

They were greeted by the released elves from the facility when they arrived, and two others. One was a female elf, with midnight blue hair that went to her shoulders. She had blue eyes with lightning streaks running through them. She wore a dark green hunters garb with dark green boots. The other elf was an elder. He had scruffy greyish hair, and a simple brownish yellow robe. He smiled.

"Welcome. You must be Luke, Tear, Guy, Natalia, Jade, Anise, Riy and Erika. I am Elder Masaar." He said, and bowed his head, along with the girl. Luke opened his eyes, rubbing them.

"Wait, how'd you know we were coming?" Guy asked as Luke tried to clear his eyes. Masaar smiled.

"We Elves have our ways." He said, and turned to walk away.

"Come, we have much to discuss." He added, before he was joined by the elven girl, and soon the others.

They followed Masaar and the elf girl through the crowds of other elves who were asking all sorts of questions, which varied from

"Where are you from?"

"Why do you dress like that?"

"Are you allied to any particular nation?"

Masaar waved them off and quickly had the party of eight wind their way around the villagers, towards a simple wooden hut. He turned around at the others, smiled, and then proceeded to walk up the stairs. Reluctantly, Luke and Co followed the Elven Elder into the hut where he was now sitting down with the girl who had remained silent for some time since their arrival. Everyone took a seat, somewhat in a big circle, before Masaar spoke up.

"I heard that you uprooted Maxillius from the facility. On behalf of Esefalss, I thank you. This girl next to me is our top hunter. Storm Aegis." He began, motioning to the girl next to him while speaking.

"She is an excellent tracker, and after hearing that you were looking for the Wolf Child, I knew of no one better to aid you that this girl here." He continued. Luke looked to Storm briefly before letting his eyes wander. Jade opened his mouth to speak.

"If you know of our situation, then you must also know that we need to get into Falar." He explained. Immediately, Masaar nodded.

"Yes, I have heard of such rumors. If that is all, then you'll need Storm to accompany you. She's been through the forest many times, and knows her way through it." He suggested. Riy nodded now.

"Sure. It helps to have allies like an Elf." He agreed, and then turned to the others one at a time.

"Is that alright with everyone?" He asked. Guy nodded.

"Sure thing." He said, and then Natalia nodded.

"Always a pleasure to meet new people." She added. Anise bounced up and down.

"Sweet! More girls in the group now. We beat the guys in numbers." She grinned. Luke sighed at her antics and looked to Storm, who appeared to be giggling.

"Alright then. We should get moving quickly if we're to get there before anyone else does." He said, and got to his feet. Masaar nodded, and then motioned for everyone to rise.

"I know. You must hurry though, a foul presence is what I sense near the heart of Esefalss. Sinister work is being played within the border." He warned. With that last comment, he sent the nine of them off.

The party of nine had split into three groups. Luke, Jade and Riy were group 1, heading straight from Alta. Guy, Tear and Erika made up group number 2. Anise, Storm and Natalia were the third group. Two and three headed in opposet diagonal directions from the village.  
Luke's party had it easy due to the fact they were going straight, only having to weave around the occasional giant tree. As they hurried to Falar, they were lost in deep conversation.

"So Riy, how long have you been a mercenary?" Luke asked. Riy turned to him and smiled.

"Well, as long as I can remember. Helping others just sits well with me." He replied earnestly. Jade turned to the wolf and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"How about parents?" He asked. Riy shook his head, and kept his gaze forward.

"Unfortunately, they both died when I was very little. I was taken in by the Guild and trained as a mercenary from there." He responded softly. There was an uneasy silence before Luke opened his mouth once more.

"Uh, well at least you have friends. Isn't tha-" He began to form the whole sentence, but instead he was cut off by slamming into a tree. Jade grinned, but it was quickly replaced by awe as he and Riy glanced up at a collosel tree, bigger than any of the others they had encountered previously. It towered over them, branches coming out from all ends as far as the eye could see. Luke slowly pulled his away to look at what they were looking at, and stared as Jade and Riy stared. The Necromancer began to touch the smooth surface of the tree, when suddenly a symbol lit up on its bark. It was Kanji for Earth. There was a loud rumbling before the massive roots at its trunk began to peel away, revealing a hidden entrance. It was a straight path at first, and then branched off into several directions. Luke stared in amazement.

"Incredible. This is Falar?" He gaped, as the Necromancer beside him formed his words better.

"This tree is formed of thousands upon thousands of colonies. It would normally take years for something like this to grow, but magic makes it happen perhaps." He described, while still touching its smooth surface. Riy however was not sight seeing, and he peeked his head in. He gaped now. There were lakes running inside the tree!  
Water was running like a river in several small ponds and streams, that grew even bigger as they were lined through the colony. Jade and Luke joined him, equally amazed at the sight. Luke finally formed an intellegent sentence.

"Wow. This is just amazing. Water inside a tree? Running so freely?" He managed to say. Riy nodded, just as awed.

"Yes, what a sight. This would be an ideal place to hide if one was a runaway princess." Jade agreed, cutting the wolf off before he could speak. Riy rolled his eyes and then glanced around some more. He pointed straight ahead of them to another trunk.

"Look! Maybe we need to light the symbol for Earth again on the trunk of that tree!" He suggested, and without waiting for a response he bolted from Luke and Jade. They didn't act suprised. Instead they just ran after him. The pathway they walked on rose higher like an indoor hill until they reached the base of the tree trunk. Jade turned to Riy.

"Perhaps we write the symbol for it here then." He suggested. Riy nodded, and then slowly the mercenary pressed his fingertips to the trunk, and started to call forth energy. He slowly drew the Kanji symbol while his hands glowed an earthly brown color. Once he had finished, the symbol was instantly illuminated. The trio of fighters stepped back a ways, and watched as the trees roots began to move aside, revealing a second hidden path. Luke turned to Jade and Riy.

"I'll bet you anything that's our destination." He said, and Jade grinned.

"Okay, and I'll become rich when your wrong." He said sarcastically, earning an annoyed glare from the Fabre boy. Riy couldn't resist a chuckle, but he regained his focus and stared at the new open pathways. Branches lined over it, curving to form a roof, king of like a tunnel with the light that filtered through at the sides. The three of them stared at it for a moment, when Riy grinned.

"Last one there's a rotten egg!" He challanged, and began to run. Luke laughed, and began to too, followed by a grinning Jade. The three of them entered the forest tunnel and ran as fast as their legs would allow them. Thankfully they didn't have to run for very long. A light was shining at the end of the tunnel. Luke, Riy and Jade ran past it, into what looked to be an open meadow at first. It was far from such. The area they were now in was circular much like Maxillius's facility, but it was much larger. Three yards from the entrance area, water began to form a ring around the land, leaving but a small walkway. Up above them sevaral hundred feet, branches and leaves hung, creating a makeshift roof. At the far end of the area, was a girl. Long, sky blue hair went down her back, all the way to her waist. She was wearing a bright forest brown dress that fell to the ground. She was facing a big tree at the other end of the open grass walkway, but white boots could be seen when they stuck out. Riy, Jade and Luke all stared in amazement at the sigh of the area, when their eyes fell on the girl. Jade formed the first sentence upon spotting the girl.

"That's-" He began to say, and Riy finished.

"Princess Renne Araa." The girl turned around to see the three of them, and froze. From a front view, the light forest brown dress had patterns drawn with white that ran from the waist, and all throught the upper portion. The dress actually ended at the waist, and she wore slick, white pants with white boots. The behind view showed the back of the dress run off like a tail. Pure Amethyst eyes were locked with each presence in the area, before she spoke.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" She questioned immediately, and now it was Riy's turn to speak.

"Your Princess Renne Araa, of Fenrir. My name is Riy. My companions and I come by request of Toran Eldia, to bring you home to the Palace." He introduced, and motioned to the two men standing beside him. Renne backed away.

"N-no that isn't possible. Toran died two years ago." She said in disbelief. Upon those words, Jade narrowed his eyes, and then they widened.

"Riy, Luke, move!" He shouted, and immediately the three of them leaped away just in time to avoid a burst of flame that appeared right where they were standing seconds ago. Jade landed on his feet several feet away, and materialized his spear, and the swordsmen with him readied their blades. A dark laughter could be heard from where smoke was spewing, and a figure clad in pure black clothing stepped out, a spiral blade in his hand. Black hair fell from his head and his bangs covered one eye. Deep, icy blue eyes glared menacingly at each figure in the room. A second figure stepped out from the smoke, this one was much different. A dark grey military suit, similar to Jade's blue one covered his body, and he wielded a fanged blade in his right hand. Dark brown hair fell down his neck to his shoulders, and garnet colored eyes watched their prey. Renne gasped suddenly.

"Toran Eldia? That's-" She began to say, but the black haired man cut her off.

"Quiet wench. Your time will come soon enough." He snarled, silencing the girl behind Luke, Jade and Riy. Toran stepped forward.

"Riy Veilheart I presume? I trust you got my letter. Adrien and I will be taking the princess now." He said. Riy stepped backwards while watching the newcomers.

"What? I thought you were working with the Silver Wolves?" He asked incredulously. Adrien snickered.

"Not anymore he's not. Now out of the way, or we'll cut you down to size." He threatened. Jade, Luke and Riy stood in front of the walkway that led to the princess.

"You'll have to try." Luke hissed, and signaled the start of the fight by dashing forward and meeting Adrien with his own blade. Riy bared his fangs as he glared at Toran.

"Jade! Help Luke out. Leave Toran to me!" He said. He didn't wait for a response, he just knew Jade nodded. He ran forward to meet Toran's blade, and sparks flew as they began to match each other move for move. Adrien was using a different tactic. He was commanding the earth beneath him to create a barrier whenever Luke or Jade attempted to strike. Jade narrowed his eyes at the suddenly familiar style as the Gaian barrier fell.

"Your an alchemist." He deduced as he dodged a thrust from the man, an attack that later released a burst of energy. Adrien smirked.

"Your very perceptive Necromancer. Now see if you can dodge this!" He roared, and leaped backwords. He hit the ground with his hand, and a giant arm made of the earth came out. It swiped at Jade, who leaped over it. He had to keep dodging however, because the arm kept coming. It wasn't for long however, when a soft melody filled the air.

_"Tue rei ze croa riou tue ze"_

The familiar song of Tear's first hymn floated through the air, and Adrien was forced to halt his assault and back away. He glared over his shoulder to see Tear, Guy and Erika were waiting at the entrance, weapons in hand. Toran had also been forced to retreat backwards due to the sleep inducing melody. Adrien cursed.

"Bah, the descendant is here. Toran, deal with the boy. The rest of these brats are mine." He ordered. Toran nodded, and the song soon faded, but Tear, Guy and Erika were given enough time to dash forward and engage the Serpent Circle leader. Meanwhile, Toran and Riy were back in battle, matching their blades strike for strike. Neither of them could hit each other, which frustrated the both of them.

"Heh, your..not half bad." Toran said as their blades collided again. Riy grinned while mantaining his forceful push of his own swords.

"Thanks. Learned it, on my own, you know." He acknowledged, but the pleasantries were over, and they continued to fight. Renne stared in wonder at the spectacle.

"They were tricked, yet they still fight. I wonder...." She said to her self. She heard a cry of alarm and looked to see Adrien gaining the upper hand. He had successfully trapped Guy and Erika in a cage made of earth magic, and had knocked Luke and Jade back as well. Adrien sent his last bit of anger at Tear, by disarming her, and then knocking her backwards. He used his magic to raise an arm made of earth above his head, as if he was going to strike down with his real hand. After watching all the fighting, the anger, resentment. It had to stop. Renne stepped forward, a hand extended. Flames began to gather in the palm of her hand, as she concentrated.

"By the will of flame and soul, begon!" She shouted, and released her concentration. The air seemed to shift, and three flaming blades erupted from gaps in the area. They sailed through the air at Adrien's gaian arm, colliding with it and incinerating it. The alchemist cursed loudly and turned to see who it had come from. Renne was slowly walking over to the battle, hand still extended and fire energy still radiating from her palm.

"Leave." She hissed. Adrien turned to Toran and shouted.

"Toran! It appears as though we've made the girl mad. We need to regroup. Come!" He called, and without waiting for his partner, he ran for the exit. Toran attempted one last blow at Riy, who blocked it, and then the Silver Wolf mercenary turned on his heel, and he left. The cage trapping Guy and Erika fell as well, they both made their way over to the middle walkway. Jade, Luke and Tear had regained their bearings, and also walked over to the princess, as did Riy. The girl smiled softly as they approached.

"I'm sorry...for not...believing you...." And with those words she collapsed.

A/N-Yeeeeeeargh! My hands feel like they want to fall off right now from so much typing in one day. Ah, but it was worth it. The chapter totalled to be about thirteen pages, which I think is a lot of words. Thanks again to xXSanctusAvaritiaXx and co426e for reviewing. Your support is appreciated. So now that you've read, you can vote in the poll now, or wait until there are more characters and developement to base you vote on. Either way, I can't wait to write more.  
Sayonara!


	5. Chapter 5: Demons of the Oracle

A/N-Ah, arigato co426e and xXSanctusAvaritiaXx for reviewing last chapter. It was long, and I hope this one will be long too. Last chapter there were at LEAST, 8 new OCs in the story. Tons of detail were added because of this. The party of...eto...9? Made their way to Falar, where they met up with the Wolf Princess Renne Araa. They also fought three new enemies in the story. That being said, I do not own Tales of the Abyss. Aerment and all ideas from the original world belong to me. This chapter includes Anise mischief, Jade with his sarcasm, OC pairing revealed, and a big suprise at Fenrir's Forest right outside the capital. Oh, and for anyone interested, I have quizzes on Quizilla specifically set for Aerment and its people. Go to the profile of oldwolfofthemoonlitsky (That's mine), and you'll see them.  
Enjoy chapter 5!

Chapter 5-The Demon's of Oracle

The party shortly set up camp after the Wolf Princess had fainted. Thanks to Tear and Natalia, they determined that it was just from using such force in a Fonic Arte. The party of about nine had set up a bonfire in the center of Falar, and were toasting marshmellows and bread over the open flame. While the princess rested, the area was silent till Guy finally broke the peace by turning to Erika.

"So, how long were you at that place we met at?" He asked curiously. Part of him wanted to know, but the other part already knew what the answer was going to be.

"Well I was taken from Thyne when I was only four, and since then have learned punishment and battle. Those two are the only things I've ever known." Erika replied sadly, her wolf ears flattening as she spoke. Anise sighed sadly, and turned to Jade, who was lost in conversation with Riy.

"So, when do we move out?" She asked, hoping the two would hear her. Thankfully Riy always kept an open ear, and he looked at her.

"As soon as the princess wakes up, which I hope is soon. Because those men won't stay away forever. If they come back and she's still unconscious, it won't end quite as nicely as the last fight." He responded grimly. Anise muttered a non-suprised "oh", and hugged her knees. The night seemed to pass much slower than the others had anticipated, but they hung through it none the less. Eventually after what seemed like forever, only Jade and Riy were awake. They both quietly walked away from the several sleeping forms on the grass ground over to where they first entered earlier. Once they were a ways away, at least far enough so that no one could here them, Riy locked gazes with Jade.

"So when her Highness wakes up tomorrow, we should probably head out. I was thinking we don't go back to the village, in case we get followed." He suggested. Jade nodded in agreement as he looked around.

"I agree. If there are any shortcuts to the capital of Fenrir, I think we should take it." He added onto Riy's comment. The wolf nodded while he cast a quick glance towards the sleeping party.

"Yeah. There's a shortcut right out of Falar that takes us from Esefalss to Fenrir again, and we'd be near a merchant town called Mendarr. It's one of the most commercially successful trade spots in the world, which would also mean a great place to stock up before heading out again." He responded. The Necromancer beside him nodded.

"Alright, I trust you as everyone else does. Lead the way tomorrow." He said, before he turned to the narrow tunnel they had entered before.

"I'll stand out here for a while. We'll take shifts for the next three hours, then get some sleep." He added, before he folded his arms and began to watch. Riy sighed and walked back over to the bonfire, which by now had extinguished itself from cold air and he laid himself down on the ground, trying to keep his eyes open, but the effects of battle were catching up with him, and he soon fell asleep. Time passed for a while and then,

_Snap!_

A single twig sound snapped, and instantly alerted Jade and Riy, who were the two most awake despite how tired they were. Riy had fallen asleep an hour ago, but he fought off weariness and woke back up to give the Colonel a hand. They both silently whipped out their weapons, but little good it did them, because the others were just waking up too, and once they saw the weapons, they yawned while raising eyebrows.

"What's up Jade? Something caught you off guard?" Luke asked sleepily with sarcasm noted in his voice. The Necromancer made a hushing sound, and prepared his spear to launch, but when the sounds stopped, the silence settled once more. Riy wasn't so believing, but he and the Necromancer put their weapons away anyways. They both joined the party by the burnt out campfire, as Princess Renne woke up finally. She yawned heavily, before stretching as she rose to her feet. Everyone quietly stared at her till she stared back, and blinked.

"Good, morning?" She said questioningly. Everyone could resist a chuckle, but thankfully Luke retained his calm mood.

"Ah, your awake your highness. We were waiting-" He began to say ''for you'', but Tear smacked him over the head to shut him up, and Riy covered for him.

"Sorry Princess. We were all worried, and so we stopped to set up camp here until, now basically." He recovered, earning a half-deserved smile from the girl.

"Well thank you, but I should be the one apologizing. You did speak the truth when you came here, only I thought you were lying. You see I fled my own castle, because of certain issues. I just couldn't trust anyone at the time. But after seeing how bravely you all fought earlier, I think I can trust you." She explained. Jade nodded, completely understanding what she meant.

"That's understandable, and we won't question your reasoning behind why you fled. Right now though, it's best that you do return to your home. There are issues that need be discussed." He said calmly, watching the girl with curiosity. He sensed an unusual level of Fonon activity around her, one that was of the same level as himself which intruiged him even more. He said nothing though, as Riy spoke up.

"Well Princess, if your feeling better, then it best we all move out before those men come back." He suggested. Everyone seemed to agree, though if anyone were worried they didn't show it. They all made sure they didn't leave anything behind, and hit the road. Well, they traversed once through Falar to leave, then they were out of Falar, and into Fenrir the Silver Nation once more.

Departing shortly from Falar after waking from slumber meant that the party had to stay on their feet throughout the early morning, and the rest of the day. They were all grudgingly walking forwards besides Riy, Renne and Jade who were wide awake. The snow covered every inch of Fenrir. White powder was stepped on constantly which created footprints, though any sign that someone had come through was erased by the heavy falling snow. Thick dark clouds hung over the wide open planes as the party trekked, and even lightning rolled across the sky occasionally. Riy glanced upwards at a particularly loud boom.

"Looks like a storm is coming in. Either that or some spirit is really angry." He mumbled heavily, earning a confused look from Anise.

"Huh? You lost me at spirit." She said, bepuzzled by the boy's comment. Erika responded to the curious girl.

"Well, it's commen to have weather abnormalities, but occasionally an elemental spirit can go out of control, or it gets angry. This weather could be the result of such an occasion, though I wouldn't know why." She said, putting a hand to her chin while she thought. Natalia and Renne were both walking close to the front, since they were both Princess's they were both talking about, guys. Guy and Luke caught this as they walked by them, and sighed. To them it was so typical of girls to talk about men, but to the two royals, they were having such a good time. Jade turned to Riy who seemed to be lost in thought as a town came into view.

"Riy, would that be the city we're headed for?" He said, and pointed as the wolf snapped out of his thinking to see where Jade pointed. He nodded.

"Yeah that's Mendarr alright. But with this weather we'd better hurry there soon, and rent a room at the inn. Or we'll be on our feet for some time before we get to Fenrir Capital." He replied, adding the last part to make everyone walk faster on purpose. They didn't need to walk much farther, because the city was closer than they had expected. In a matter of minutes they arrived at the merchant town. Only one word to describe this place would come out of anyones mouth.  
Life.  
There were people preaching prices, much like in Vatrow. The difference here was that people were buying. Whether it was items or clothes, or weapons of a different calibur things were being bought. Buildings were made of cobblestone and occasionally some rose from the ground made of what looked like marble, though it was hard to tell. The party quickly navigated through the crowds to try and reach the inn, when conversations started happening, and one caught Guy's ear. He stopped moving and started listening.

"So, I heard that Fenrir Palace is under control by some people calling themselves the Demons of Oracle." One middle aged male said.

"Yeah, and I heard that three fighters patrol the Silent Forest every day." A second voice, middle aged as well but female said. At this point Jade and Renne had joined him, interested to see why Guy had stopped walking.

"Yep. They're all supreme fighters, none have beaten them before. I heard that the king himself couldn't stop them despite the fact that his rank is blademaster." The man added. Renne gasped, but Jade put a finger to her mouth to quiet her so they could listen.

"Yep, the Silent Forest is now days inhabited by monsters, big and small. Some say that at night, a huge skeletal beast attacks travelers and possesses them." The woman from before said. Guy frowned.

"What's the silent forest?" He asked. Renne furrowed her brows as Jade pulled them away.

"Silent Forest, capital S and F. It's a place just outside Fenrir's Capital. A seal binds the place and spellcasters can't use magic inside the forest." She responded, still shocked to hear about her father's situation. Riy and the others had dissapeared into the crowd, but Jade remained calm and spoke while pushing his glasses up on his face.

"How far from here is that place?" He asked. Renne turned to him, a frown plastered on her face.

"Not far. It's at most a mile from here. Which means we're close to reaching the capitol." She responded. Guy put a hand to his chin like he always did when he was thinking, and stared at the sky.

"I wonder who these Demons of the Oracle are." He said aloud. Jade narrowed his eyes at movement out of the corner of them.

"I do also. Lets hurry and catch up with Luke and the others. This info is vital to reaching Fenrir Capital now." He said wisely. Guy and Renne nodded, and the three of them walked farther into the crowd until they were buried.

The three of them quickly found Luke and company at the end of town, waiting for them. Anise seemed to have a smug smirk on her face, while Luke and Tear were blushing. Riy turned to see the three allies walking towards them.

"Well there you are. It's not nice of you to dissapear without telling us you know." He grumbled as they approached. Guy rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, but we've just heard some rather disturbing news." He responded, trying to keep his own temper in check. Tear looked to Jade who was staring off into space it looked like.

"Colonel, what did you hear? Is it related to where we're headed at all?" She asked innocently. Jade wasn't staring into space, and he nodded.

"Yes. We've heard that Fenrir Capital has been seized by a group calling themselves the Demons of the Oracle. They've supposedly never lost in battle before, and are holding the king hostage right now." Everyone gasped, minus Guy and Renne, who was still shaken up slightly at hearing that. Luke was the first to outburst.

"What? How is that possible anyways? I thought-" He began to say. Renne cut him off rather harshly, and was ticked off.

"It is possible. I'm not too worried for my people, because a friend of mine and head of Fenrir's military is always watching them. I'm more worried about my father and sister who were still at the capital when I left." She said grimly. Riy frowned, saddened at how badly things were going. It was Jade who spoke up.

"If that's the case then we've got to hurry to the capital. If we don't, things could turn really sour." He explained, and no one objected to the suggestion which was more a command. The nine of them immediately headed out of the village, bound for the Silent Forest.

What was supposed to be a peaceful trip to Fenrir Capital, was not going to be that way. Little did the party know, old enemies were waiting for them just outside the forest they were headed for.

While they were walking, Riy for some reason was staying close to Renne who was folding her arms and refused to turn around. She was facing straight ahead, where the forest was quickly coming into view. The others were forced to keep up with the two, and had to walk fast in order to do so. Roots began to pop up out of the snow as they got closer, until trees were sticking out of the ground. Though they had no leaves, the oak was still brown. The trees they were heading for were green unlike the brown barren oak they were passing. Renne was stomping through the snow instead of walking at a brisk pace, though she was still walking quickly. Riy tried to stay beside her, as if to try and calm her down. This was not working, because she was right at the entrance of the woods, with her traveling group thirty feet behind. She stood right in front of the forest, her anger rising. Riy caught up with her soon after she had stopped walking. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"Princess, I'm sure their fine. We are going to save them, just-" He began, but an alarmed shout from Natalia cut him off.

"Look out!" Riy managed to catch sight of what she was warning them about in time to wrap both arms around the princess and leap away, dodging what embedded itself in the ground right where he had stood seconds before. They both hit the ground with a start, and Riy looked up to see his attacker. A huge axe was being lifted out of the ground right where he had stood before, by a huge man. The others had finally caught up with the two wolves, and it was Natalia who couldn't speak. Jade narrowed his eyes in time to block an incoming attack from a new opponent. The green clothed figure flipped away, wearing a golden mask to cover his eyes. Shots were fired, and Tear now threw up a shield to defend the party. The team all looked around to see old enemies.  
Largo the Black Lion.  
Legretta the Quick.  
Sync the Tempest.  
Jade ran over to Luke while Tear held up a shield created by her Fonic Hymns.

"Luke! Hurry over to Princess Araa. Get her to the capital! We'll be fine!" He shouted. Riy stopped the Colonel with his own voice.

"No! I'll protect her, you guy's have got to hold them off. Only me and Renne know the way around that Forest. If anyone else goes, its a disaster." He shouted back. Renne looked up at him, suprised by his reaction, but Jade didn't have to be told twice. He nodded, and with that Riy lifted the Princess from the ground and sprinted for the forest.

A/N-Okay, so a pairing is not yet revealed. But there is one person who I know knows who the first OC/OC pairing is. Riy and Renne are going to become friends, but how good of friends? Find out next chapter, as well as Guy's OC pairing is revealed too. I would like to thank the readers for sticking with me so far. Your awesome.  
Sayonara!


	6. Chapter 6: Two Letters

A/N-First things first...

Ferretsshadow-Yeah, this story takes place after Luke's absence. Thanks for reading!

Second, I don't own Tales of the Abyss. It belongs to Namco. Aerment and its ideas belong to me.  
Read on!

Chapter 6-Two letters

It has only been 3 minutes since the mercenary boy Riy had escaped the battle against three notorious Generals, and from newfound allies and friends he could really get along with. As he ran he ran through a place called the Silent Forest, he had the Wolf Princess in his arms, against her will of course but she had not objected after the third minute of running the two were able to catch a break, and Riy set Renne on her feet before he sat down on the ground, internally beating himself for running so fast and from new friends of his. As he leaned on one raised knee, Renne tilted her head while looking around. The trees around them were much darker than the ones in Esefalss, and they looked as though they had been burned. She walked up to one and pressed her hand to it, to find out that they were very hot, so she recoiled her hand in surprise with a startled gasp. Riy got to his feet, and stretched after a few more seconds of sitting down.

"These trees have never been warm before, at least not like this. How can this be? Magic, can't be used in here." The girl with him wondered aloud. Riy looked around to see the ground had tracks of some kind on them, causing him to frown.

"I don't think this was caused by magic your highness." He cautioned, taking a few more steps before stopping and tensing up. The wolf girl looked around some more before joining the mercenary at his side.

"You don't think-" She began to say, but Riy narrowed his eyes and cut her off by wrapping an arm around her waist, and shouting: "Watch out!" Before pulling the two of them to the ground a few feet away, narrowly missing being sliced by a giant weapon of sorts. They both raised their heads after hitting the ground, and looked around briefly.

"You alright?" Riy asked, earning a quick nod before a maniacal laughter cut them both off.

"Ah ha ha ha ha! You, ignorant worms! How foolish of you to have come here! By doing so, you've walked right into my trap!" Both of them turned around to see a starnge man who seemed to be floating in a chair, and was accompanied by a massive robot. Riy growled as he got to his feet.

"That explains the fire damage." He muttered under his breath. The bizzare floating man laughed harder as he watched the two youths below him, until he regained his composure.

"Now listen well you ignorant beasts, I am the most graceful of the enemies you've seen, and ever will. I am Dist the Rose." Dist announced formally, and when he said beast, Riy unsheathed his swords.

"What's that supposed to mean? You calling us beasts?" He almost snarled when he spoke. Dist glared through his glasses and pointed at the two.

"You. Your Wolves. Hah hah, your hardly human to us and the best thing to call you is a beast, less you kill people and villages." He replied darkly. Both wolves narrowed their eyes, and now the young wolf girl produced a long metal staff with a crystal shaped tip, and readied it. Before either of them could make a move, a much harsher voice stopped them.

"You speak nonsense Saphir. Those times of thinking are gone. We accept these two as anyone else. Seems as though you need to move on still." Riy and Renne turned to see Jade and the others wielding their weapons, also ready for battle. Dist chuckled.

"Oh Jade. How foolish you are. YOU, may have moved on, but the way of thinking that I still keep, is the way I always will!" He declaired, and motioned with his hand for Kaiser Dist to prepare for battle, causing everyone before him to tense up.

"Now then. Kaiser Dist will retrieve the girl you meant to return to this wretched place, and will destroy you vermin as well. This is goodbye, Jade." He said darkly, before the robot dashed forward to attack. Before either Riy or Renne reacted, Tear had dashed in front of them and threw up a shield to block Kaiser Dist's attack. The block was ffollowed up by Luke and Guy jumping out from behind the two wolves and slamming their blades against Kaiser Dist's hide. This proved to do little but force the robot backwards. Natalia and Erika followed up with consecutive shots and thrusts from bow and blade, attempting to pierce the robot's hide but this didn't work either. Jade attempted to cast a fonic arte, but he found that nothing was coming to him, no fonon's or anything. He cursed under his breath while Kaiser Dist ran rampant through the battle, wearing down its enemies while it remained at full strength. Riy and Luke paired up side by side to try and beat Kaiser Dist to death, but that proved meaningless as well. Renne and Jade attempted a double effort at a fonic arte. For a moment, energy began to swell, but it soon dissapeared. Both of them sighed in dissapointment, but then the Princess furrowed her brows.

"Wait. What if we both focus our energy into the same spell?" She suddenly suggested. Jade nodded quickly, letting his spear dissapear while he readied himself again.

"It's the only shot we've got left. Let's do it." He agreed. They both began the incantation, and seconds later they both released it.

"Splash!" The combined efforts payed off, striking Kaiser Dist with heavy blasts of water and causing Kaiser Dist to spark. Luke and Riy smiled, and Dist gave a huge face of surprise.

"WHAAAAT? That's not possible! This forest is supposed to seal magic! Your supposed to die! No, no, NO!" He started then to have a temper tantarum, throwing his arms in the air. Luke and Riy looked to each other and nodded. Together they dashed forward and executed an X-shaped slash that caused Kaiser Dist to explode. Anise appeared from farther in the woods and grinned.

"Yeah! In your face Dist!" She cheered, and ran over to Jade.

"Colonel! Your so cool! You and Princess Renne!" She declaired. Renne and Jade laughed and then both faced Dist along with the others as he threw his tantarum.

"Gaaah! You'll regret this Jade! The Commandant won't let this go unnoticed! He'll get you!" He declaired, before zipping away. Tear widened her eyes, but Jade put a hand on her shoulder.

"At this point we shouldn't be surprised." Was all he said before turning to Riy.

"How much farther to the Capital?" He asked. Riy simply pointed at a group of trees with an opening in the cluster.

"We go past those trees and we'll be in Fenrir Capital. Once we're there, I'm sure that we are going to be watched under the enemies eye." He replied. Everyone nodded, and began to move forwards until they one by one filed through the opening in the trees that led to Fenrir Capital.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fenrir Capital had to have been quite simply the most beautiful place that Luke, Guy, Jade, Anise, Natalia or Tear had ever visited. Snow was falling what felt like 24/7 all around the city, and beautifully carved houses lined the streets, and streetlights illuminated the darkness, due to the fact that it was now night. As they walked through the city, the nine of them kept an eye out for any sign of trouble. Renne was in the lead, still angry that her home was under seige currently, and she had come home to a battle. During the silent trek, Tear turned to Luke with a look of worry.

"Luke, maybe you should go talk to her. I mean, there are things you two have in common. If we sent Guy to do it, he'd most likely run and hide behind you." She suggested, earning a look of disdain from the Fabre boy.

"Why me again?" He asked, causing Tear to roll her eyes and sigh.

"Please Luke?" She added, making a slight puppy-dog face while she did. Luke tried to resist that face, but ever since he returned from Eldrant Tear would give him that look when she couldn't get her way with reasoning around him. He eventually gave in and slowly walked forward to where the wolf girl was in the lead. He got up beside her and began to walk, when she turned to him and she looked kind of sleepy.

"Hey." Luke said when she turned to him. The girl flashed a quick grin before returning to her forward walk. He frowned, trying to figure out a way to mantain the girls attention, when he suddenly understood what Tear meant. He and the princess have something in common. They've both come home to a battle.

"Listen, Renne. I think I understand how you're feeling right now, about coming home to this. See, at one point where I live I came home, only to have my family reject me and send me out. It's, sort of an issue hard to explain, but I had to fight to take it back." He explained, watching as he had caught the girl's attention.

"Did, you take it back then?" She asked. Luke nodded, as he glanced forwards towards the now visible castle.

"Yeah, we did. And you know what? The same is gonna happen here. We won't let this happen." He declaired, determination clearly evident in his voice. Renne lightened her mood at hearing that, as did Riy who was, eavesdropping on their conversation. He cracked a quick smile, when something caught his eye and took his attention away briefly before he returned it to the two in front.

"Luke! Renne! Watch out!" He shouted as he dashed forward and managed to knock them both over in time for black arrows to miss them by inches. Both of them raised their heads as they heard the rush of wind miss them. Jade looked around to see movement in the night.

"Everyone take cover! Head for the castle and don't let them see you!" He whispered harshly. Everyone nodded and split up into groups behind nearby buildings. Slowly but carefully the smaller groups inched their way towards the northern area of town by running into the street and quickly getting behind the next building to avoid being skewered by arrows. It wasn't long before they noticed lights up ahead, bright white ones and they looked like lamp posts that were way too fancy. Renne pointed silently.

"Over there. I know those lights. They stand out as a reminder that Fenrir Castle is ahead. We're almost there." She said quietly to Jade, who was crouching next to her. He nodded, and the movement continued. Inch by inch the groups moved forward until they were all standing by the lamp posts. Once that was done, they looked to one another, nodded and then dashed past the lamps one by one. When they arrived at the front gates the scenery only got better. The front view of the building was quite the sight. It was made entirely out of granite and marble that appeared to have a blue color to it. There were symbols above the gate they stood before and even one right in the center. The group from Auldrant stared in amazement at the runes centered where they were. There was a brief moment of silence before Anise said something.

"So, how do we get in?" She asked quietly. Renne stepped forward with an arm outstretched, and then raised her other arm which was followed by a loud creaking, and the gate slowly opened as if responding to the girl's presence. Everyone stared in awe but Jade was casual and pushed his glasses back into place and remained calm.

"Well, shall we be going then? I'd like to hurry to the throne to meet with your Father Princess." He announced. Renne nodded in agreement.

"And I'm sure he'd like to meet you guys. Lets go." She said, and was about to say more but the sound of an explosion stopped her. Luke, Guy and Riy were on full alert with swords unsheathed and ready, and it was Jade who noticed it first.

"Damn! They've seized the throne room. We need to hurry." He shouted as he materialized his spear. Renne pressed her heels to the ground, ready to sprint. First however, she turned around.

"Follow me!" She said quickly, before taking off into the castle, the others not far behind. As they ran the group did not take much time to notice what wizzed by as they dashed, but they passed by several paintings hanging on the wall, and they missed the fact that the floor was made of marble. None of them noticed that they passed by several sleeping Oracle Knights either. They had to wind and weave around corners and through hallways until finally they arrived at the entrance door to the throne room. Guy stepped forwards, sword in hand.

"Time to take care of whoever is behind this." He said. Luke agreed with his friend and stepped forwards as well, just as eager to defeat this enemy.

"I agree. We don't have time to waste." Tear said, also stepping forwards. One by one the group stepped forward until everyone was ready. Renne did the same act as outside to open the front gates. She raised one hand, then two. The symbols on the big stone door before them lit up, and it slowly opened. Luke and Guy both looked to each other and nodded before dashing through the narrow opening that the slow door had produced. They were quickly followed by the others, and once they were all in did they see who was behind this. Van Grants was wielding his sword in hand, talking with the King and another girl, who had snow white hair that was around the same length as Tear's hair. She had loyal amber eyes and she wore white garments all around. Fur wrapped itself around ankles and shoulders. She looked to see Luke and Co entering the room and cracked a smile before returning her attention to Van.

"Dorian General Grants, our country will not surrender to you or your men. We have nothing more to say to you, but they might." She said, and pointed behind him. Van turned around in time to see Luke sailing through the air with his sword bearing down on the General. Van managed to block the attack but the force of the impact sent shockwaves through the room. As the two swordsmen struggled to force one another back, the other girl behind him took this oppertunity to slip past Van by leaping over him and landed over by Luke's group. She readied a bow like Natalia, and once Natalia saw this, she readied herself as well. In seconds the two launched several arrows at Van, who finally managed to force Luke away in time to block the shots. Luke stood inches from Van, ready to launch an attack again, but the General just laughed.

"Ha ha ha. I'm glad you could make it Luke. I was worried that you weren't going to." He chuckled, holding his blade in hand. Tear took this oppertunity to question her brother herself.

"Van! What are you planning to do here?" She shouted. The General turned to his sister and softened his gaze.

"Mysterica, you are too young to understand why this is what it is. Fenrir and every place here has got to stop struggling against each other. If they do not then-" He began to explain but Guy cut him off.

"I don't think you're in the right Van. After what you did back then, you expect us to what, forgive you?" He shouted angrily. Van shook his head and stepped away.

"No, I don't. But I can't control my own Generals won't listen to me. And I-" He tried to speak again, but this time Luke cut him off.

"Master Van, I don't know why your here. But we also have something to do. We were warned by someone that both this world and our own are in danger of being ruined. We don't want to have to fight you. At least, I don't want to have to." He said solomnly. Riy frowned, and turned to Jade.

"Necromancer, your not from Aerment? What world could you be from then?" He asked. Jade remained quiet, but it was Van who replied to the question.

"They, we are all from Auldrant which resides nearly right next to here." He answered, sheathing his blade and turning to Luke.

"Luke, you say you were warned? By whom were you?" He asked. Luke looked surprised by this question but he answered nonetheless.

"By someone named, The Silver Maiden. Why?" He asked. At the mention of this, the white haired girl stepped forward with a smile on her face.

"So you did get my letter. I'm relieved." She said. Everyone turned to her as she walked through the group towards the center of the room.

"Luke Fon Fabre, I am Celeste Araa. I asked you and your companions to come hear for a reason. But first, let us hear what Dorian General Grants has to say." Celeste said, before turning her attention to Van, who looked distraught.

"I, recieved a letter as well. But not from who you did. This came from Leon Maggus, the Commander of the Exile Unit." He explained as he produced a letter hidden beneath his clothes. He handed it to Luke, who turned to Jade.

"Luke, read it aloud. Perhaps we may learn something from this." He suggested. Luke nodded, and began to read.

_Dorian General Van Grants_

_My name is Leon Maggus. Perhaps you've heard that name before. I am the General of the Exile unit of Aerment, and I need your help. My world is declining. The six nations are struggling against one another, fighting for survival. Years ago there was a great war that ravaged my home for many long years. Even though that is over, I feel that the evil is not gone. I feel with your help I can fight this enemy.  
Please, we need you._

_Leon Maggus, the Phoenix Swordsman._

When Luke finished reading the letter aloud, everyone's eyes were on him and it was making him feel uneasy. There was an unusual length of silence to top it off, and it wasn't making things any easier. Finally, Jade spoke up out of everyone.

"Perhaps, this Leon sent the letter to Van around the same time the Silver Maiden Celeste sent us ours. Perhaps He knew that she was sending it, and wanted someone who was strong to stall us." He pondered. Celeste shrugged as her father remained sitting on the throne, listening to this conversation. Finally, he spoke after hwat seemed like some time.

"Luke Fon Fabre, if my daughter sent for you to help us, I'd like to know your story first." He hailed. Luke turned around to get approval, and his companions all nodded. Luke returned his gaze to the King and nodded.

"OKay then your majesty. It started..."

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

A/N-Finished! And what time it took to do so. This is a cliffhanger because I don't want to have to go into all of the talking about the journey Luke and Co went through on Auldrant, so that happens next chapter. Also, you'll find next chapter that Guy is less nervous around Celeste for some reason. Find out why coming up.  
Sayonara! 


	7. Chapter 7: A False King

A/N-Uwaaah! Gomenasai Minna! It has been too long since I last updated this story! I apologize! And thank you to RFK22 for reviewing last chapter, I really appreciate it. Now then, I don't own Tales of the Abyss for it belongs to Namco. Any original ideas and the OC's in here are mine. Now then, I leave you to read Chapter 7 where two OC pairings are revealed...

Read on...

Chapter 7-A False King

Luke spent some time retelling the tale of the battle against Van and the Order, and then about how they happened to get where they currently are, Fenrir Palace. Once he was finally finished, the king took a huge breath.

"I see. This is certainly quite the tale, but to be truthfull I had already heard of General Van's defeat long before you came here. Even though our two worlds no longer connect on a political level, we still make sure that we know what's going on outside our own world. My daughter Celeste gave you the letter to tell you of our situation. As it stands right now, Leon is planning on using his men to conquer each nation, and then when he's done with Aerment he'll move on to Auldrant." He explained, stroking his gray beard while he spoke. Jade pushed his glasses into place and replied just as calm.

"Well as it currently stands, he's sent some men to Auldrant already, and is occupying one of the capital cities there. I believe it would be best if we combined our forces to stop this Leon then, before he gets too powerful." He said seriously. The Fenrir King nodded, and turned to Celeste.

"Yes, I think that would be the best idea right now. Tomorrow we will formulate a plan of attack, but for tonight Celeste will show you to your rooms." He said. Celeste nodded, and motioned for Luke and the others to follow her as she began to walk towards the Throne Hall door.

"Please follow me then everyone." She said, and waited until everyone was gathered at the door before pushing it open and walking out with the others filing out one by one. Once the room was empty except for the King, the old man spoke, in a much more vile voice as if he were talking to someone in the room.

"The notorious Dorian General Grants, such a fool. I must be thankful for his General's assistance tomorrow, because we will him need if we're to win such a battle. Your efforts are not in vain." He said to himself, before getting up and walking towards the large stone slab and leaving the room himself.

Later that evening after Celeste had shown everyone to their respective rooms the party split up to walk around and talk with just each other. Guy was staring out a window on the second floor of the Palace in the middle of a hallway, leaning on the railing as he thought to himself. Always first on his mind was Luke's safety. As his servent, no. As his best friend it was his duty to keep him safe. But being in a world he knew little about made it that much harder to do such. He was lost in thought when a hand gently wrapped its fingers around Guy's arm, causing him to jerk slightly. He turned around to see Celeste. The Silver Maiden had a worried look in her eye.

"Something bothering you, Gailardia?" She asked curiously. Guy raised an eyebrow at the mention of the name.

"How do you know that name?" He asked. The wolven girl chuckled softly as she removed her hand from Guy and sat herself down on the railing Guy was leaning on.

"We might not keep in touch with Auldrant that much but I myself made sure to in case of something like this happening. It's important to have such knowledge." She responded, white hair blowing in the soft breeze while she spoke. Guy just shrugged to himself. Celeste turned to the noble and slightly tilted her head.

"Guy, if your worried about Luke, don't be. If it wasn't for friends like you, then it wouldn't be possible for him to get so far. He's had friends like that, and he's very lucky. Besides, I don't intend to sit back and let you fight by yourselves. I sent that letter for a reason, I also intend to battle along side you and your companions." She continued, noticing Guy seemed to calm down slightly at those words.

"Thanks Celeste, I think I'm feeling more calm now. Thanks a lot." The blond noble said, and he suddenly noticed that he hadn't flinched once when Celeste had wrapped her hand around his arm. Celeste smiled and the two just remained in the window to look out at the horizon.

Meanwhile, Riy was alone in one of the palace bedrooms, staring out to the vast land outside the palace walls and thinking to himself. It wasn't long before that he had been asked to find the missing Heir to Fenrir's Throne, and now he was traveling with people from another world to stop an ancient evil from so long ago, the Elementals War. He ruffled his hair as he thought alone. He was about to start talking to himself when the sound of a door opening alerted him to the fact that someone was following him. Upon turning around fortunately he found it was only Renne who had changed out of her outfit from Esefalss and into a more battle suited white dress. She walked over to him as she started to talk.

"Are you by yourself up here?" She asked. Riy shrugged and looked back outside to the city below.

"Just thinking to myself, there has been a lot for me to take in today." He replied quickly avoiding eye contact with the girl. She walked up beside him and continued to speak.

"I can understand that. But, it isn't exactly common knowledge that Auldrant existed outside our own. Mostly it was the rich or the Nobles of a nation that knew of its existence, after the fact that we cut off ties from such a world. It was, for a reason I don't understand really. But seeing Luke and his friends out there today gave me hope for the future and maybe my father. He, hasn't been himself lately." She said, her voice began to fade as she finished her sentence. Riy furrowed his brows and turned to the girl.

"How so?" He wondered curiously. Renne shifted her feet, unsure to if she should say this to anyone besides family first.

"Well...it's just that something about him hasn't seemed right ever since we got here. I'm not sure why I feel this way, but..." She started to tell her reasons but found that the words just left her mouth and she couldn't speak. Riy shrugged and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Well if I were you I'd trust that feeling. Cause I'm not entirely sure I get a good feeling from him really." He replied, frowning while doing so. Renne just sighed and leaned on her arms as she stared outside.

"Hmm...I just wonder sometimes..." She said softly. Riy turned to the girl to see her in intense thought as she stared out the window. Riy thought to himself for a second before putting a soft hand on the princess's shoulder, who jerked at the sudden motion.

"Well don't worry about it too much. We're all in this together, we'll figure something out." He said reassuringly. Renne froze for a moment, then quickly smiled and nodded.

"Tbanks, Riy." She said. The mercenary just nodded and turned to continue looking out the window, as did the princess of the wolves.

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Jade, Natalia and Anise were on the lower left balcony that overlooked part of the city below, and none of them were saying a word. Getting uncomfertable with the silence, Anise shivered from the cold and opened her mouth to speak.

"S-so...tomorrow we are going to have a plan of action right Colonel?" She asked nervously. Jade just nodded in response as he glanced over the edge of the platform and frowned.

"Yes, tomorrow we will. But I'm not so sure about the energy I'm feeling from the king. It almost seems...malicious." He said ominously. Natalia and Anise both looked worried after hearing this comment, but thankfully the tension was still low in the room. There was a brief moment of silence before Jade spoke once more.

"Go get some rest. Tomorrow we start fighting again and I'd prefer it we were fully prepared." He said, and as he spoke out of the corner of his eye he saw a shadow move so he turned to see what it was. It was the thing he feared most. Below the lower left balcony was the King of Fenrir, and he was organizing a squad of Oracle Knights to go inside. Jade's eyes went wide as he watched the scene below. He spun around to face to Natalia and Anise, who were generally startled by his sudden movement.

"Go get the others to meet in the Throne Room. We've got company." He said, before taking off to go find Luke and anyone else he could. Natalia and Anise both looked to each other, nodded, and took off running after Jade.

Jade was running as fast as he could, looking down every corridor that he passed by. Once he had checked all the first floor rooms, he ran for the closest set of stairs and sprinted up the smooth marble floor. His boots clicked against the hard floor as he passed by several windows until he reached one of the second floor bedrooms. He could hear the sound of footsteps on the other side of the door so without wasting a second the Malkuth Colonel kicked open the door in time to see Riy cutting down an Oracle Knight. Jade rushed into the room with a worried look on his face.

"You both alright?" He asked immediately. Riy and Renne both nodded as Jade glanced quickly at the fallen Oracle Knight.

"Do you know what's going on?" Riy asked, not sheathing his blades quite yet. Jade nodded as he walked towards the open door that he had actually kicked open.

"The king is organizing a group of the Oracle Knights Luke mentioned earlier. I believe something is seriously wrong." He replied grimly. Renne frowned and looked past Jade towards the hallway as the two wolves walked towards the Colonel.

"Where are everyone else?" She asked, her voice laced with concern. Jade didn't make a facial gesture but he motioned towards the door as he spoke.

"Anise and Natalia are gathering everyone else. Let's hurry towards the Throne Room and fortify a defense." He said, before once again taking off down the hallway. The two wolves didn't waste time in running after the colonel once he said those words.

True to his words Anise and Natalia were going to find the others and found that Guy and Celeste were looking out one of the windows. Wasting no time at all in alerting the two, Anise screeched.

"Hey guys! We're in trouble!" The two older fighters turned to see the puppateer coming full speed at them and Anise jumped without warning onto Guy who flinched at the sudden movement but retained his posture. Natalia was more composed when she got in front of them.

"Trouble?" Celeste asked immediately upon hearing this. Natalia nodded while pointing down the way she and Anise had come.

"Yes. Jade is worried that something, or someone is trying to organize an assault on the palace. He saw something just moments ago and wants us to organize in the Throne Room so we can prepare." She explained. Guy stepped forwards now, and reached for his sword on instinct.

"So the Oracle Knights are back?" He asked, practically thinking the same thing that Jade had been thinking. Natalia nodded while Anise slid off of Guy and onto the floor right as more footsteps echoed throughout the hallway. The group of four turned to see Luke and Tear running towards them with their weapons in hand and serious expressions on their faces.

"Guys! The Oracle Knights are back! Arietta, Legretta and Sync are leading the forces on the outside walls. We don't know who's behind it though!" Luke shouted as he ran. Guy unsheathed his sword while Natalia readied her bow and Anise mumbled something about "those oracle jerks".

"Then let us hurry and catch up with Colonel Curtiss. We don't have time to waste. Follow me!" Celeste shouted as she turned on her heel and took off in the direction that Natalia and Anise had originally come. The others didn't waste any time in running after The Silver Maiden, because they were truely in danger right now.

Jade, Riy and Renne were waiting anxiously in the Throne Room for the others but they hadn't to wait long because in the midst of their pacing the doors were thrown open and right on cue the others filed into the Throne Room. Celeste entered last as she spun around and held her hand out causing the doors to close. Once they were shut the Silver Maiden turned to Jade.

"What's going on Colonel Curtiss?" She demanded. The Necromancer pushed his glasses up on his nose and frowned deeply while he responded.

"Your father is organizing a squadron of Oracle Knights to assault us here." He explained rather bluntly. Celeste cursed under her breath while everyone else gripped their weapons in anticipation.

"But why would he? He's a king isn't he?" Luke asked upon hearing this. Before anyone had a chance to respond, the voice of said king resonated throughout the room.

"Because this "king" has had a change of heart." Everyone spun around to see the king of Fenrir, only he was much different. He was now in full battle gear and wielding a long spear that was pronged at the tip and bore a golden ring around it. He laughed evily while twirling the weapon, and only Luke found the voice to speak.

"Then who the hell are you?" He demanded upon hearing this as well. The fake king just laughed harder and his eyes flickered with excitement.

"I am General Atael. Second in command to Leon's forces. I was sent here by commander Leon to observe this pitiful kingdom and its residents. Also to wait for the wench to return so that we may succeed with our plans." Atael replied. Jade twirled his own lance and glared at the man.

"And what plans are those?" He said in a demanding tone. Atael shook his head and got into a fighting stance.

"Those plans, are none of your concern. The fact that you went through the trouble to find the brat and bring her here would normally appease me and I'd let you go. That won't be the case since if I did you'd be more of a problem later on so I'll just kill you all right here." He snarled in response. Jade turned to Renne, who nodded and the two fonists got side by side and readied two artes. Luke and Guy were the ones that initiated battle, by charging forwards and bringing their weapons down on Ataels. They both widened their eyes in surprise at the sight that there were two lances that Atael now held. He just chuckled at their expressions.

"Surprised? My Illusion lance allows me to create solid duplicates of itself and use them like giant arrows, or to block your attacks. However they dissapate if they connect with a projectile while in mid flight." He snickered. Jade and Renne both at this time released their Thunder Blade arte at this comment. The two blades rocketed through the air but ended up meeting two more lances that blocked the attack. Now there four blocking attacks. Tear launched three knives at Atael, which caused him to block it with one lance and force back the two swordsman with his others. Then he let the three extra dissapear so that he only had one again. Everyone got into a group again as Celeste and Natalia readied a flock of arrows each. Atael's expression grew dark now.

"That was impressive for a group of children, however playtime is over and I'm no longer in the mood to be nice." He said, his lips curling into a grin. With a startling cry Atael charged forwards and first attacked Luke who caught the attack with his sword, but the impact was strong enough to send shockwaves through his body and caused him to stagger. This gave the general the opening he needed and with twirl of his lance he slammed the butt of it into Luke's chest, sending him flying off to the side. Tear cried out to him in worry but she didn't have much time as Atael launched a second lance at her, forcing her to throw up a shield. Upon impact it nearly broke the energy shield and caused Tear to stumbled backwards in surprise. Atael smirked triumphantly as he readed two more lances to throw but he had to give up on that as Riy unexpectedly jumped right in front of him and lashed out with his twin swords. The tip of his blade nipped Atael's shoulder, causing the general to get angry and slam the flat end of the blade of his lance into the wolf's chest and then he slashed into his ribcage sending him backwards in surprise. Jade cursed as the battle dragged on in Atael's favor, and having seen enough the Necromancer got ready to unleah Indignation but Renne's voice stopped him.

"Wait Colonel. If you can buy me some time I may be able to stun Atael long enough for use to get out of here." She suggested. Jade didn't waste time in nodded and readied his Prism Sword arte. Natalia and Celeste released their flock of arrows at Atael who was forced to twirl his weapon to block them. Anise took this oppertuniy to charge forwards and slam Tokunaga's arm into the general, sending him backwards in surprise as Jade released Prism Sword, sending the powerful arte cascading down upon Atael who was stunned further. Renne, upon seeing this nodded to no one in particular and took a few steps back while extending her hands forwards and closing her eyes while different kinds of energy began to swell at her hands and feet.

_"Healing earth I summon you. Raging gales I call you forth. Shimmering darkness and illuminating light, descend!"_ As these words left her mouth, powerful energy began to swell everywhere. Jade and Tear could certainly feel it. They looked around and their eyes fell on Renne who seemed to be aglow from all the energy. A second later her eyes opened suddenly, and they were on Atael.

_"Ancient Storm!" _She shouted as loud as possible, and that's when the burst happened. Without warning, earth, wind, darkness and light elemental energy gathered at Atael's feet and sprung furth in a column of brilliant colors. The general was trapped amongst the flashing lights, and his cries could be heard from behind it. Everyone had stopped what they were doing to watch this spectacle, to find that it was soon ending. With one brilliant final flash the Mystic Arte was over and left barely standing was a wounded Atael.  
And he was mad.

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A/N-HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Sorry this took so long to update guys. I had lots of school work to do. Especially with History. We are doing some sort of, Stock Market game that is really wearing me down. Thankfully it is Christmas Break. However I believe this is the last update I'll have until after Christmas because lots of planning is coming. So, have a good one!  
Sayonara!


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